Cyclists from all over the country took to Mérida state to witness a historic event: the Guinness certification of the fifth edition. of the Gran Fondo Collado del Cóndor (GFCDC).

One thousand cyclists from all Venezuelan states participated this Sunday, March 23rd, in the GFCDC ​​across four distances, one of which (125 km) earned Guinness certification as the race with the longest climb in the world.

Organized by Ultrabikex and streamed on its YouTube channel, a group of cyclists set off from Estanques, 425 meters above sea level, to summit the Collado del Cóndor, at 4,200 meters above sea level. It was the first of four starts scheduled for the morning, which would take place from different locations.

Over this 125 km distance, Bancamiga promoted the Bancamiga Ultrabikex Challenge, which featured professional cyclists José Rujano (2004, 2005, 2010, and 2015), José Alarcón (2023), and Edwin Becerra (2025) and the renowned amateurs Alfonso Márquez (winner of the Gran Fondo Collado del Cóndor in 2023 and 2024), Alan Noya, and Jeison Avendaño.

Through the “Bancamiga Ultrabikex Challenge,” an initiative of Alberto Camardiel, Executive Director of Marketing, Products, and Services at Bancamiga, the goal was for at least four of them to reach the finish line in under 5:15 minutes. This Sunday, the tireless efforts of these six cyclists allowed them to cross the finish line in 5:03 minutes, a record that Alarcón believes will stand for years to come.

For Camardiel, the Bancamiga Ultrabikex Challenge is a way to promote cycling in the country and to make the Collado del Cóndor Gran Fondo a benchmark for Latin American and global cycling. In addition to its Guinness certification, it opens the door for other cyclists around the world to see this achievement as a record worth breaking.

On a day with excellent weather conditions, the fifth edition of the GFCDC ​​saw Nelson Peña win the 125-kilometer race with a time of 5:12.06 seconds and Lilibeth Chacón with 5:35.32.

Two cyclists will compete in Egan Bernal’s Gran Fondo

As in previous editions, the event brought together cyclists across four distances: Mucuchíes (26 kilometers); Valle Hermoso (46 kilometers); Mérida (80 kilometers); and Estanques (125 kilometers).

One of the highlights was the participation of Olympic athlete Joselyn Brea, who reached the final of the 5,000-meter race at Paris 2024 and also left the national team proud in the 1,500-meter race.

This Sunday, Brea won the 80-kilometer race. She acknowledged that it was a very demanding race, especially in the final stretch, but that the support of the people, Bancamiga employees and volunteers at the entertainment and hydration stations along the route, and the beautiful scenery provided her with inspiration to face the final kilometers.

She expressed that her participation in the Collado del Cóndor Gran Fondo served as training while she recovers from an injury. She hopes to return to athletics in the coming weeks.

During the GFCDC, two all-expenses-paid packages to attend the Egan Bernal Cycling Gran Fondo in Colombia in November were raffled off. Participants in the 125-kilometer race, Ericka Urrea and Thomas Silveira, were awarded prizes.

For Colombian cyclist Camilo Reina, who attended the GFCDC ​​and is a partner of 2019 Tour de France champion Egan Bernal, what he experienced this Sunday in Mérida was wonderful. On his first visit to Venezuela and the region, he was able to experience the state’s beautiful landscapes and the high level of Venezuelan cycling firsthand.

He hopes that, in addition to Urrea and Silveira, many Venezuelans will compete in the Cycling Gran Fondo organized by Bernal, and that many Colombians will also compete in the Collado del Cóndor Gran Fondo next year.

With information from Bancamiga Banco Universal and Ultrabikex

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La entrada The Collado del Cóndor Gran Fondo makes history in Venezuelan cycling apareció primero en Bitfinance.

In an effort to accentuate its presence in the west of the country, bank more Venezuelans, position its brand and promote the sport for its intimate relationship with well-being and quality of life, Bancamiga participated in the fourth edition of the Gran Fondo Collado del Condor, in the state of Mérida, an event that brought together more than 1,000 cyclists from all over Venezuela.

The presence of Bancamiga touched on several lines of action that included sponsorship, realization of an operation to open accounts and deliver the debit card, hydration point and support five kilometers from the finish, and the participation of a team of collaborators, accompanied by Ambassador Amanda Dudamel, who covered 42 kilometers starting at 2,206 meters above sea level. A few days before, Dudamel accompanied the Executive President Ariel Martínez and the Director Alberto Camardiel, in the Conecta2 program which also made reference to the cycling event from Mérida.

This Saturday, the competitors in the four distances that were in dispute faced a demanding route, in a heavenly atmosphere that changed according to altitude. The 125 kilometres started from Estanques at 456 m asl; 80 km from Mérida at 1,630 m asl; 42 km from Escagüey at 2,206 m asl and 26 km from Mucuchíes at 2,983 m asl.

The president of the Board of Directors of Bancamiga, Carmelo De Grazia, said that the institution is committed to promoting sport in the country, especially when it benefits communities that drive the economic and tourism development of the country, such as, in this case, those of the state of Mérida.

“The Gran Fondo Collado del Cóndor has been a great opportunity to position the brand and bring Venezuelans closer to our innovative products and services. During Thursday and Friday we were with an operation at the Belensate Hotel, which allowed the inhabitants of Merida, as well as competitors and relatives to open their accounts with us, and learn about our financial facilities,” he said.

Triumphs with records

From the support point of Bancamiga, five kilometers from the finish, each of the cyclists could be seen on their way to the finish at almost 4,200 meters above sea level, one of the most emblematic places of the Venezuelan Andes. They passed by exhausted, almost unable to speak but all with the only desire to reach the top.

And the first to do so in the longest and most demanding event of this fourth edition, the 125 kilometers, was Alfonso Márquez, who had just won in 2023 with 6 hours 17 minutes. This year he did it with record time at 6 hours.

“I end with emotions in the flesh. If you catch me coming, you get me crying. This is an event that brings me a lot of nostalgia and is by far the best in the country. I’m just looking forward to next year’s. I thank Bancamiga for helping to make it happen.”

He said that during the long journey from Estanques he thought a lot about a phrase of his brother: “Happiness is a way to travel to a destination. That’s why I always go happy.”

In women’s, Marlene Goncalves also repeated. He said he felt “super good” and that the hardest part of the competition was the lack of oxygen after the 2,500m, which definitely affects your performance. “Height makes this very difficult,” he added.

The young cyclist invited other women to try and start with small distances. “The challenge is to overcome yourself. My goal was to improve my time and I managed to finish in 6h22 minutes (6h58m in 2023). This is a competition against yourself. And thanks to Bancamiga for their support.”

A unique experience

Among the 1,000 participants was a team of Bancamiga and allied companies formed by Alberto Camardiel, Jonel Reyes, Ángel García, Rodolfo Aponte, Carlos Rosales, Gustavo Gómez, Daniel Torres, Jhonny Frías, Francisco Vásquez and Thomas Silveira.

Ángel García, director of Planning and Budget, was doing so for the first time. He said that “it was more of a personal challenge than competing. As the world’s largest ascent by bike, reaching Collado del Condor is an unforgettable experience.”

“Last year I wanted to come but I wasn’t ready, so from March 2023 I started shooting and from August on a more consistent basis. We did it on weekends and sometimes during the week.”

He said he loved cycling, because it is a discipline that is synonymous with health, because it strengthens the cardiovascular system, muscles, allows to see spectacular landscapes and provides the opportunity to share and forge new groups of friends.

Another member was Rodolfo Aponte, manager of Financial Operations and with nine years in cycling. He indicated that he came again to do the 125 kilometers, after the hard experience of last year.

“Reaching the Condor is unforgettable. This year I felt better and that was because I had more experience, I knew the route better and I had better training.”

One who debuted was Daniel Torres, Human Management Compensation and Benefits Coordinator. He was drawn to participate for several reasons, including “their beautiful landscapes.”

“My family is from Boconó, Trujillo state, which, like Merida, has spectacular places. I’ve always wanted to ride a bike through the Andean moors. I couldn’t do it in 2023 and my sports plan was 80 km.”

On this occasion, the Bancamiga team was accompanied by the institution’s ambassador Amanda Dudamel. With her medal in hand she said that “this is a triumph of the Bancamiga team and of the whole of Venezuela. Today we show that together we are a team.”

While thanking her partner (Daniel), who also did the 42 kilometers and had to face some setbacks, the former universal viceroy of beauty and entrepreneur said that “one of the lessons that this challenge leaves us is the ability to fall, get up and overcome obstacles.”

With information and images provided by Bancamiga Banco Universal

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La entrada Gran Fondo Collado del Cóndor: Bancamiga boosted its brand and banked more Venezuelans apareció primero en Bitfinance.

To promote banking access for Venezuelans, offer business opportunities and contribute to the development of the region, Bancamiga inaugurated the Mérida agency this Wednesday, the second in the state and number 43 in the country.

Located on Las Américas Avenue, Rodeo Plaza shopping center, the new office will support key sectors such as agriculture, tourism and commerce, through financial solutions that meet customer needs.

The manager of the agency, Flor Sosa, said that in this space Bancamiga will make available products such as its accounts in bolivars and foreign currencies, including the CASH account in Colombian pesos that will allow depositing and withdrawing cash at the box office, as well as carrying out operations. in foreign currency through the Exchange Desk.

The Mastercard Debit Card will also be offered to make online purchases and pay at points of sale inside and outside the country, and the Bancamiga POS, which in alliance with Soluciones Integrales Tecnológica SITCA, are the most modern and versatile on the market, offer the possibility to pay and recharge telephone and TV services, in addition to stamping 5 and 6 and playing the lottery.

Sosa highlighted that the agency is located in a privileged location, with easy access, where public transportation reaches without problems. It is close to the Main Market of Mérida and the Passenger Terminal.

“From this space we are going to approach clients not only from the city but also from nearby towns such as Tabay, Pueblo Llano, Mucuchíes, Santo Domingo and others from the Andean moors,” he said.

With 16 years in the financial system, Sosa added that in his efforts to position the agency he is accompanied by a team of six professionals, “with a vocation for service and willing to respond to the concerns of our clients.”

At the top of the banks in the national financial system

For the executive president of Bancamiga, Ariel José Martínez, the Mérida agency comes to accompany the bankization effort carried out in this state by the El Vigía agency, along with countless operations that contribute to the growth of the bank.

“Mérida is one of the cities with the greatest tourist attraction in Venezuela and the place of the highest peaks that rise in the country, including Pico Bolívar. Bompland and the Humboldt. It is a region with great strength from an agricultural, commercial and entrepreneurial point of view that we want to continue promoting, with tailored products and services.”

Martínez recalled that based on a specific program of policies and strategies, Bancamiga is at the top of the banks in the national financial system and this year it has continued its sustained growth, adapting to new banking trends and market needs. It was certified for the third time in a row by the leading company in culture and organizational climate, Great Place to Work, as a great place to work.

With Mérida, Bancamiga reaches its 67th service point, which includes 43 agencies, 19 non-banking MRW points, two Associated Ticket Offices, two External Ticket Offices and the Bancamiga Móvil unit.

With information from Bancamiga

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