In recent years sports growth in Latin America has been exponential, and demand seems endless. It’s amazing how in young countries, in terms of sports development, the schedules are packed with events and masses of athletes take part in thousands of races per year. From massive marathons with 30.000 or 40.000 people, and international cycling races, to Trail Running circuits with ITRA score; South American athletes seem to have become addicted to some of the more expensive individual sports in the world.
In cycling the growth is striking, in triathlons the demand is amazing. Already there are 11 dates set for the world championship Ironman, 1600 places by date are sold in a matter of minutes. Even the world championship off road triathlon X-Terra has some dates in the región.
In mountain biking the reality is no different: The world championship Enduro World Series has 8 dates worldwide, two of those being in South America (Chile and Argentina), two in the US and 4 in Europe. In the road cycling market, Argentina has the Tour de San Luis, which is an international category Pro Tour. While in Colombia, Chile and Argentina you find some of the best cyclists worldwide such as Nairo Quintana, Pablo Gonzalez and Rigoberto Uran. Also, new disciplines such as CycloCross are beginning to draw their national circuits. In addition to this, in each country, there are between 7 and 15 major races a year, by discipline and by segment.
There are thousands of athletes with high purchasing power and with enormous potential. In these countries one amateur triathlete on average spends between U $ S 5,000 and U $ S 15,000 per year only on equipment. While an enduro bicycle costs no less than U $ S 4.000. – and an amateur road cyclist needs to spend at least U $ S 3000 if he’s thinking to ride over the weekend. Given that markets like Argentina and Brazil are still asleep, we are in the presence of a market that is growing with each pedal stroke.
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