Who is Marcelo Gutierrez? If you didn’t already catch it: Marcelo’s just got a podium finish at the 2015 UCI DH World Cup at Fort William this weekend, smashing it with a third place position. An amazing achievement no doubt, championing his home country in South America as the first Colombian to stand on a podium during the UCI World Cup.
Amongst friends, Marcelo is known as Lechón, confusingly, a type of roast piglet dish traditionally served in South America. But where’s he come from? Are Marcelo and Giant Racing going to take on the big names: Atherton, Gwin, Smith, Minnaar?
This weekend wasn’t his first taste of Scottish soil though, having exploded onto the DH world scene at the UCI MTB World Championships in Fort William in 2007, aged just 18 and grabbing 12th place in the Junior rankings. Spurred on, he also took 12th again in at Val Di Sole Junior level the same year.
Overall winner Marcelo Gutierrez at the Bratislava City Downhill 2013
He’s taken on several South American contests though, coming in first in the Pan-American Championships in 2011, and the 2012 Manizales Urban Downhill, hosted in his home town in Colombia. The new, terrifyingly fast genre of DH racing known as “urban downhill” is where he’s reigning supreme at the moment. He’s not only bagged Manziales two years on the run, but stole fourth in the Valparaíso Cerro Abajo in Chile in 2012, and then won it in 2013.
Marcelo at the Descida das Escadarias de Santos, Brazil 2012
If the name Marcelo ‘Lechón’ Gutierrez is starting to ring bell, you might also re-remember that the Colombian has also taken part in events at Crankworx Whister too with his sponsor RedBull, bringing home a second place position in both the 2011 and the 2012 Garbanzo DH competitions and winning the “King of Crankworx” title in 2014. Marcelo fought hard in the 2012 DH in Leogang, Austria too, taking a top 10 position too.
Here’s all you need to know:
Marcelo ‘Lechón‘ Gutierrez | Quick Facts
- Full name: Marcelo Gutierrez
- Nickname: Lechón
- Nationality: Colombian
- Born: May 9, 1990 (Aged 25)
- Discipline: DH and Enduro
- 2015 Team: Giant Factory Off-Road Team
- Main Sponsors: GIANT Factory Racing, RedBull, Moveo, Universidad Manizales
- Bike: 2015 Giant Glory 27.5 (650b)
Gutierrez’s 2015 Giant Glory 27.5 650B
We hope to see more of Marcelo making a name for himself with the next stages of the 2015 UCI DH World Cup. Keep your eyes peeled for some Colombian pressure on the current champions over the next weeks.
You can follow Marcelo’s UCI World Cup progress on Twitter: @marceloguvi
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