The Costa Rican Cycling Federation (FECOCI) selected six riders to represent Costa Rica at the Pan American Mountain Bike Championships from March 17 to 23 in Santiago, Chile.
The team will include three cross country riders and three downhillers.
Sho Air-Specialized's Manuel Prado and Giant-Italia's Paolo Montoya will represent the Central American country in the elite men's cross country, while local cup rider Alberto Coto will take part in the masters' competition.
National Champion Álvaro Hidalgo will race the elite men's downhill while Jean Carlos Aguero and Julián Tenorio will contest the Under 23 downhill division.
"It is an honor to be part of the national team for the first time. I will do my best and will train wisely this coming days to do the best I can at the Pan Ams," said Prado, who has lived in California in the US during the most of his mountain bike career.
Costa Rica's highest hopes for the "ticos" will be focused on the 24-year-old Montoya, who won a silver medal at the 2008 Pan Am Championships in Argentina.
"I've been doing my job since I started this season. I was just waiting for the official news of having made the team," said Montoya. "I think I'm ready and will fight for the first place this time." Montoya won the first round of the Costa Rican cross country cup last Sunday in the city of Cartago, and he was second at last year's La Ruta de los Conquistadores while Prado finished fifth at that best-known Costa Rican mountain bike race.
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Sue George is an editor at Cyclingnews. She coordinates all of the site's mountain bike race coverage and assists with the road, 'cross and track coverage.
