My name is Marcelo Gutiérrez Villegas, and for me, downhill represents what I have been working and fighting for all my life.
It has been my career for around 12 years, for which I have done a lot of sacrifices. It's all the results and objectives that I'm going for, and all the goals for my future.
The feeling I have every time I get on a bike, is for many like Yoga or meditation, but for me it is this. Relaxing, leaving the city, and seeing the paths…
The first time I was near a bike was when I was around 3 years old, and I was able to ditch the wheels that the small kids used on their bikes for pedaling, and I adjusted really fast.
Initially I began with BMX at around 5 or 6. When I was 11 I returned to BMX, and during that time I began mixing cyclocross and downhill,
but I began having better results in downhill than in cyclocross. In 2007 was my first international race,
and I had a very good result and that was the boom for me, and that encouraged me to keep going and continue dreaming.
I was born in Manizales and this city has a special characteristic, and it has a lot of mountains around it, and this helps the downhill practice.
The support I have had from my father and mother has been fundamental. My dad has always been there, supporting me with the mechanics and giving me all the support with the bikes.
My mother has been the one motivating me, and in many occasions the one taking me to the training sessions and races, she was also the one who thought me to be a better person.
Since he was a very small kid I taught him to ride, since he was 2 and a half years old, but I never thought that he was going to be a Champion.
Since he was a very small kid, he has been very well educated, and since Hernando gave him his first bike, he showed the will, security and passion for the sport.
The biggest talent of Marcelo as a rider is his perseverance. I describe Marcelo as a winner, as a warrior, who never let anyone frighten him. He sees all his rivals as himself.
The first time I went down, I went down in the bike that a friend of mine lend me, and I liked it so much that the next day I told my mom, "hey mom, I want you to take me again with the bike, I want to run again."
The exact moment when I decided to focus exclusively on downhill was when I was around 13, 14 years old. What motivated me the most,
was that even though downhill is an individual sport, I was the one who setting my limits, and I was the one who decided where I could get,
like that I constantly improved my level as an athlete, and I hope one day I can reach my personal goal to be number one in the world.
The decision to have downhill as a full time job, took around one year.
I am conscious that this is a risky sport, and obviously I have fallen down really hard, but I have never fallen that hard, so I have never had any serious injuries.
When I am in a race, I have very little time to decide how to deal with each obstacle.
What motivates me to be number one, is the fact to know that until now, all I have done is still not enough.
The results that motivate and make me proud of myself are the World Cup and the World Championships.
There are many things that stress me, the tracks are difficult, but it's the stress that encourages you to improve,
to ride at your limits all the time, and doing it you know you have the risk to fall down and hurt yourself.
I could say that I am not scared from the tracks, the speed, and my rivals. Downhill is what I feel passion for. There are two things I am scared of; being in a wheel chair, and having a denied visa.
My name is Marcel Gutiérrez and downhill is my passion.