“More women should participate in this sport”: Verena Hörmann was crowned with first place at the 6th date of the 2024 Chilean Cyclocross Cup
The CMPC Pumalal Park was the setting chosen by the tournament’s organization for this sixth date, in which more than 50 cyclists competed in the face of intense obstacles on the park’s course.
Affiliated participants earned points for the national team, as the championship was sponsored by the National Cycling Federation of Chile.
“I am the only woman in my category. Many more should participate.” That was the message delivered by Verena Hörmann, age 32 and the only woman in the Women’s Elite category. She won first place in the general women’s category of the sixth date of the 2024 Chilean Cyclocross Cup, which was held at CMPC’s Pumalal Park in Temuco, Araucania Region, for the first time. This tournament, which is on its third edition, is the only cyclocross championship in Latin America.
Verena’s preparation for this championship was mainly mental, and this allowed her to be crowned as the best participant in her category: “I mentally prepared for this championship, as the terrain was a surprise. We don’t have these types of settings to practice cyclocross in Santiago. I was picturing a course where my rear wheel would slip, and it was materialized here. It was a very good experience,” she pointed out.
The objective of this competition was to consolidate this interdisciplinary, inclusive and family-oriented cycling modality, attracting new crowds and practitioners. It is mainly performed in winter and combines various specialty skills, including jogging and managing the bike in different terrains.
“This is the first time that a Chilean cup date is held here in Temuco, and we decided to do it at the CMPC Pumalal Park because they have helped us a lot with the organization of this event. We have a top-tier stage, as well as the support of the park’s personnel. We are very thankful,” said Gabriel Román, member of the PlusSport organizing team.
Another participant who achieved first place was Patricio Campbell, age 35, who obtained the victory in the Men’s Elite category. Campbell remarked that this circuit “was a race that, due to the weather conditions, presented difficulties, but this is one of the main characteristics of this discipline, a winter discipline”. Regarding his preparation, he stated that “because it is a competition with lots of changes in rhythm, I have been training for a while now. There is a lot of intensity work to face these dates”.
Manuela Sandoval, CMPC’s Territorial Relations Manager for the Valle Araucanía area, indicated that the company is committed to promoting natural life and physical activity thanks to the Bosque Vivo park network: “At CMPC, one of our objectives is for our neighbors to be able to perform physical activity in our parks, as well as fostering a life closer to nature in a place where productive and native plantations can coexist.”
This tournament still has four dates left, which will be held in August and September in the Metropolitan Region. Lastly, the national championship will be held on September 8th in Talca, Maule Region.
