It is quite a slog to the village of San José de Gracia, which is located on highway 190 some 70 miles (112.6 km) southeast of Oaxaca city, but the local residents turned out in force to welcome all the mountain bikers who came for the race held on 16 March 2014. The race circuit was a 3.1 mile (5.1 km) loop that began on the city streets of the town and then dropped down into the valley of the Rio Quiechapa, where riders crossed the river twice on bridges set up for that purpose and then wound up, down and around through the forest on single track trail.
The high point of the race course hit an elevation of 2783 feet (848 meters) on the hillside above San Jose, while the low point was the river crossing at 2465 feet (751 meters). There was a total of 621 feet (189.3 meters) elevation gain and loss on one turn around the race course – but, of course, participants rode the loop two, three or four times, depending on which category they were entered in.
