Titan Tropic Cuba. I can think of worse places to be right now.

On Sunday December 4, participants of the Titan Tropic Cuba by Gaes held a first non-competitive day from Havana to Soroa.

150 bikers have traveled 97km from the historic city of Havana to the idyllic town of Soroa, in the province of Pinar del Rio, as part of a non-timed stage and without designating a winner.

The Titan Tropic is already underway, although it has started half-heartedly, with participants and main favorites reserving energy for today’s stage, with start and finish in Soroa (106 kilometers), where the stopwatch will be launched.

Throughout the day, there was an atmosphere of tense calm among the great favorites. The 150 participants from around the world including United States, Spain, and Italy, have left Havana through wide tracks, easy to ride, until reaching the province of Pinar del Río where the depth of the jungle has taken center stage.

It has been a day of adapting to the terrain, climatology and humidity, and especially to be able to enjoy some spectacular scenery for the practice of mountain biking. Among some of the participants who have checked for the first time what is like to ride in Cuba, is the former Formula 1 driver Jaime Alguersuari, who has enjoyed this first day.

"I have loved the course of this first stage, I have been able to experiment with my Fat Bike on the dry terrain, although the final part has been something more technical. I have to admit that I’m reserving myself for tomorrow, where the good part will start" said the former driver at the Soroa camp.

The Titans had up to 9 and a half hours to reach this camp located in an area that is a Biosphere Reserve. A small paradise where more than 800 plant species and 73 birds coexist. Soroa also hosts the orchid garden with 20,000 copies of 130 species of orchids.

All participants will be sleeping in the tents for the rest of the competition, which will allow them to experience the adventure of the camps. An experience that only a test like Titan Tropic Cuba by Gaes can give to its participants.

After the first non-competitive stage, hostilities will be unleashed between the great cyclists of this edition like Tamayo, Betalú, Tinker Juárez, Bou, Ventura, Mojica and the Cuban national team ... they are all looking forward to raising their arms in a stage of 106km.

The stage will circulate through cultivated areas and will pass near three hydraulic dams, facing some technical rise in the final section. The Titans are keen to leave their mark in this magnificent race, and tomorrow we will meet the first stage winner and the first leader.