HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Last Sunday, James Sardea and five other athletes from Guam, while riding for Fly Racing Team Guam, competed in the Patiis Enduro Hardline Challenge 2024 in San Mateo, Rizal, Philippines.
Sardea, who competed in the men’s age 50 and above category, delivered a first-place finish. Sardea posted the following times: 3:34.460, 1:48.510 and 4:42.157.
“I just continue to race (mountain bike) cross-country and MTB national championships the weekend before, to keep my bike strength strong,” Sardea said. “I’ve been flying back and forth to Manila to practice.”
For Sardea, who discovered the Patiis racetrack in the early 2000s, prior knowledge of the downhill challenge may have aided in strategy, but it was still a tough competition.
“On race day the trail was dusty and rockier than the days before. Practice runs really tore it up. What made it worse was the sun was completely out. I was getting heatstroke after I finished the race, waiting for awarding,” he said.
Guam’s other racers included Dan Petschauer, Jason Karcher, Drew Young, Paje Butler and Austin Butler, the contingent’s youngest rider.
Petschauer and Karcher, in their respective classes, both finished top 10 while Young completed the race.
During practice runs, Austin Butler, just as he was entering a steep section of the trail, slipped on a pedal and crashed, spraining his wrist. Austin Butler, after the accident, was unable to continue racing. Paje Butler, a Guam Cycling Federation board member and father of the fallen cyclist, also crashed during the practice run, resulting in a bruised sternum, bruised ribs, swollen shoulder and knee, along with multiple lacerations to his hand and forearm.
Although Sardea and three others from Guam finished the race, not having anywhere to train locally may have factored into some of the results.
“There is nowhere to practice MTB downhill racing on Guam. We have no trails with big jumps, drops, steep descents and tricky single-track that are dedicated to this race format,” Sardea said.
For Sardea, the recent victory motivates him to compete in the UCI Masters Mountain Bike World Championships May 15-19 in Cairns, Australia.
“I hope I will be ready to represent and rank with the top riders of the world,” Sardea said. “I would like to thank the Guam Cycling Federation, the Fly Racing Team Philippines for their inspiration and motivation.”
He also thanked his coach, Bans Mendoza, for stoking his competitive spirit and increasing his racing skills.
Lastly, for their support, Sardea thanked Urban Fitness Guam.
