It was at Interbike in 2007 when Manuel Prado walked up to the CycleOps Power booth and introduced himself. He explained how he had been a top BMX rider and now wanted to become one of the best mountain bikers in the world—big talk for this sub-130-pound young man who had barely just turned pro. A few weeks later, CycleOps Power formed a partnership with this young rider from Costa Rica, and 3 days ago, in his 3rd year of competition as a professional mountain biker, Manny became the overall winner of what has been coined the hardest mountain bike race in the world: La Ruta de Los Conquistadores. So what was it about Manny that stood out back then?
Passion. Drive. Determination. Humility. Sincerity. The list goes on, but in the end it was the fact that he truly believed in himself.
When Manny first approached CycleOps for support, he didn’t drop off a race resume with a cover letter stapled together on 8.5” x 11” white office paper. He gave us a spiral-bound composition with wooden front and back covers, held closed by an old spare tube, which was fastened together by a bronze rivet.
Wow. Our first impression was that an athlete who would put this much thought, care and effort into creating a sponsorship proposal would go far.
But as they say, you can’t judge a book by its cover. When we took the time to look through his composition. It told a story of an athlete who doesn’t just enjoy his sport but is truly passionate about it and had a real drive to achieve...
This was not a sponsorship proposal. This was a journal—a scrapbook chronicling his history in riding. At the time, Manny was a semi-pro mountain biker with a goal of becoming a top-level pro. He made an impression on us, and we have been supporting him ever since.
It has been an honor to watch Manny’s progress from when we first met him in 2007 to his 2009 win at La Ruta. In a post-race interview from cyclingdirt.org, Manny says: "I think I'm an average rider with a big heart and big dreams that [I] want to accomplish, and I've been working very hard for this day, and I'm very happy to see it happen." Winning that race, in his home country, was one of the top goals he had back in 2007, and we are proud to see that his methodical planning and undeterred determination led him to reach his goal.
Congratulations Manny, on your 2009 win at La Ruta de Los Conquistadores.
Manny is on a much-deserved break—backpacking in the Costa Rican jungle—coming off his La Ruta win, but we look forward to getting a first-hand report from him soon. In the meantime, to learn more about La Ruta and how the 2009 edition unfolded, check out cyclingdirt.org. There are several videos covering the stages that give a good picture of how grueling this epic race is.