Alberto Fermin Mendez, una leyenda en el ciclismo nacional - Mark Romeril

This article was published in El Prensa Libre on October 23rd, 2010.

Alberto Fermin Mendez is one of the most famous cyclists in Guatemala. Some of his greatest accomplishments include winning the national road title in 1997, and winning the GC in the Vuelta de Guatemala in 2000. The year after winning the tour, he was suspended for 6 months after failing a doping control. Even after his retirement at the age of 35, he remains an icon in Guatemalan sport. Although he had a successful cycling career, the need for income in his family forced him to move to the USA where he worked construction for several years. Currently he lives with his family back in Guatemala, supporting them through his work at his fathers small business.

There are a few features worth commenting on. First, the Guatemalan media seems to love cycling. In the sports section of El Prense Libre, there are four cycling features, some highlighting national icons such as Alberto Mendez, but also building the excitement for the Vuelta de Guatemala. In comparison, the Guardian has two feature stories, and L’Equipe in France has only one feature story. It is notable how much coverage cycling gets compared to other developed countries. I would assume that cycling would receive extensive exposure only if there was a public interest. So, based on media exposure, and the comment of last weeks speaker, it would seem that cycling is rather popular with the people of Guatemala as well. This raises the second point of interest, cycling is an unlikely sport to be so popular in a developing country.

Cycling is a sport that has a high cost of entry and high uncertainty set against a low rate of return. Racing bikes themsleves cost thousands of dollars, and races aren’t cheap either. A racer in Canada could easily spend $5000 each season on equipment and fees. This creates a high barrier to entry for those on smaller incomes. Cycling has high uncertainty because crashes may damage the self, (or worse) the bike. Furthermore, it is unlikely that one will ever actually win. What about the potential return on that investment? Riding as a professional in Canada is far from lucrative, one could only hope to make up to $20,000. A pro contract in the US or EU would get closer to 50-100k, and only a handful of top european pros have million dollar contracts. As evidenced by the article, being a pro rider in Guatemala means working construction in the US. Also, consider the opportunity cost of the sport. Amateurs get by on 15-25h a week of training, professional riders train around 25-40h a week to remain competitive. That is a lot of time to not spend on earning a living. It seems like unlikely that people such as Alberto Mendez would ever take up cycling in the first place.

History would inform us otherwise, as cycling in Europe has historically been a sport of the lower and middle classes. Some of the greatest names in Cycling came from simple backgrounds, ascending to glory through modest means. Pre-WWII Italian great Gino Bartalli sold raffia to wine makers before becoming a cyclist. Eddy Merckx (60-70's) worked as a stocking clerk at a grocery store before making it as a pro on a second-hand bike. So perhaps it is not so unlikely that cycling has become as popular as it has, with many many Guatemalans reaching for glory on two wheels, despite the challenges that face them, creating a national sporting obsession second only to futbol.

It is also interesting to note that the only years that Vuelta de Guatemala did not run were in 74, 78 and 05. It ran almost all throughout the civil war.