Heading up the women’s event and wearing number five is ‘Skatie’ Katie Neilsen who has put in some impressive finishes this year. Local rider Maria Isabel Nunez, currently ranked number eight in the world will be pushing hard to preserve national honour.

The big class, Open Downhill Skateboarding sees World number one Patrick Switzer making an appearance in Peru for the first time. His finishes have been close to impeccable this year and his grip on the World Cup is not to be removed, but that will not stop other top riders pushing him as hard as possible.

Tarma is situated at an elevation that would require a light aircraft pilot to put on an oxygen mask. It remains to be seen therefore whether the top class international riders will have allowed enough time to acclimatise to the altitude. Last year Douglas Silva suffered as a consequence of oxygen depletion and has arrived early to get used to the thin air. Micho Erban is also an early arrival and has already noticed the effect of the elevation.

Tomorrow will be a fairly casual day for riders. A whole afternoon of free practice is scheduled allowing competitors to learn the course and get used to the altitude before competition proper begins on Friday with the first of two qualification runs.