Catharine Pendrel won the Pan Am cross country championships in 2009 when they were held in Chile. (Image credit: Dave McElwaine/trailwatch.net)
Guatemala will host the Pan American Mountain Bike Championships on April 7-11, 2010. The opportunity to host the continental championships comes at a time when mountain biking is growing fast in the Central American nation.
"This will be the first time the Pan Ams are celebrated in Central America," said Netzer Quan of the mountain bike competition. "The Guatemalan Cycling Federation has worked very hard to get the Pan Am Games, and it has also been working hard to offer a good event."
Quan said that 12 countries have already confirmed their attendance. The Games will play an important role for many nations looking to collect UCI points that count toward national and individual rankings and determining how many athletes each country may send to compete in the Olympic Games cross country race in London in 2012.
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.
