Tomáš Slavík has completed another standout race on the urban downhill scene. After six years, he returned to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where an extremely technical race took place this week with a strong international field, comparable to the level of competition seen at the Red Bull Cerro Abajo series.
Slavík started the race very strongly. In qualifying, he delivered one of the best runs of the day and finished in second place, only 0.03 seconds behind the winner, Camilo Sánchez. In doing so, he left behind several big names from the world urban downhill scene.
“Puerto Vallarta is a truly technical track that didn’t give us anything for free. In qualifying, I had a great run and finished just 0.03 seconds behind the fastest rider in a field that really felt like Red Bull Cerro Abajo. I was very happy with that, because I knew there was still room to go even faster. In the final, I wanted to send it, but unfortunately I missed an important braking point and hit the stairs faster than I should have. The result was a catapult over the railing, about four meters down. It looked pretty crazy, but luckily it had a happy ending and I escaped without any major injuries. My last two videos may look more like attempts to have the biggest crash possible, but unfortunately that’s just how it turned out. Once again, I narrowly escaped a serious one. On the other hand, all things considered, I’m happy with my performance. The speed was there, qualifying was great, and I know I was capable of fighting for the top spot. Now I’m back home in the Czech Republic and looking forward to my next race, which will be the Czech National Championship in Příbram. Finally, another race on home soil. I’ll be sharing more information gradually on my social media.”
Although the crash looked very dramatic, initial medical checks confirmed that there were no serious injuries. For Slavík, the whole race remains mainly proof of his strong performance and speed in one of the toughest fields of the season. Tomáš Slavík is now back in the Czech Republic and preparing for his next race, the Czech National Championship in Příbram, which will take place on May 23. After a run of international races, he is looking forward to returning to home soil.
