Tag: Jalisco

Mexico is not one of those places that is normally associated with the sport of cycling. It’s more considered an affordable vacation destination for tourists to visit places like Mexico City, for its beaches, and for its old-world charm you usually can only find in Europe.

Mexico has been getting some attention lately, though, due to its participation in the World Cup and a certain cyclist named Isaac Del Toro, UAE XRG, who was awarded Best Young Rider after his third place finish in the 2026 Tour de France.

So, if you relish taking on a challenging one-day ride with climbs, gravel, and other terrain where you can test your endurance, and you’ve always wanted to ride your bike through Mexico, you should apply for entry to the Vuelta Chapala in Jalisco, Mexico.

History of the Vuelta Chapala Event

The Vuelta Chapala is a one-day cycling event held in Jalisco, Mexico, which is in west-central Mexico. Chapala is 28 miles from Guadalajara. The ride was first held in 2020. Comaparative to a gran fondo or Sportive, as the Europeans call it, the event is 212 kilometers (131 miles) in length, and the route circles Lake Chapala, Mexico’s largest natural lake.

But this ride is not your casual out and back ride on smooth roads with a few minor climbs thrown in. Vuelta Chapala is for the all-terrain rider who will face paved roads, technical gravel, cobblestones, potential heavy winds, and some steep climbs (2,000 meters). As it says on the event website, this event is not for everyone.

Applying For Entry and Registration Cost

The event organizers, in order to emphasize the point that the Vuelta Chapala is not for every road cyclist out there, list four requirements that describe what cyclists should have who attempt to do this ride.

• Experience
• Discipline
• Mindset
• Respect

Basically, the type of riders wanted are used to doing long and challenging rides, don’t need to ride the course beforehand or to even see a route sheet, are okay with suffering and won’t abandon the ride early, and who treat this ride with the respect it deserves. In other words, there’s no place for whiners or half efforts. It’s a full commitment or don’t bother.

That is why this ride is limited to 50 participants, and not the first 50 riders who sign up. If you want to do this event, you have to apply to be considered, then the organizers decide if you would be a good addition.

On the entry form, the organizers want to know the longest ride you’ve completed, and where you think you are as a rider (casual, recreational, intermediate, advanced, or expert). They also want all potential participants to write a short essay about their cycling background. If accepted, you pay a $376 registration fee.

This event is also not like other cycling events where you are awarded an event medal, a T-shirt, or jersey, and it offers no after-ride meals with a beer garden. The only amenities you get from the Vuelta Chapala are hydration and feed support, on-course mechanical support, and medical assistance if needed. Your reward is that you got to ride in Mexico and you survived this event.

Last Thoughts

The Vuelta Chapala is the only cycling event I’ve heard about that takes place in Mexico. That said, it appears both unique and exclusive. The organizers only want the best riders who can handle challenging and stressful conditions.

But even if you think you are the type of cyclist the organizers are seeking, the registration fee is steep, and the process of applying for entry to even be part of this event isn’t easy. Then after all that, there is little fanfare if you complete the ride and no rewards to be had. But if you are seeking bragging rights for completing a difficult event in another country, the Vuelta Chapala definitely fits the bill.