The 2023 edition of the Vuelta a Guatemala couldn't have gone better for the Decoba-ASO Quetzaltenango team - until the final moments of the entire race, when all but one of the squad's finishers crashed while approaching the finish line.
Gerson Toc crashed but still secured overall victory, finishing the stage by tumbling across the line on his back. Toc had been riding to the line arm-in-arm with four teammates when the rider to his right slipped and fell, taking the team out like bowling pins.
The incident was embarrassing but didn't mar the achievement of the amateur team, which delivered Toc to the victory ahead of Byron Guamá of the Movistar-Best PC team and won stage 2 with José Canastuj and the GC.
Toc moved into the yellow jersey on the 143km stage from Ciudad Tecun Uman to Totonicapan after making the breakaway and extended his advantage on stage 8 from Momostenango to Pamezabal, where he beat Guamá and opened up a lead of 2:21.
With ample time to celebrate on the final sprint stage in Guatemala City, the five riders remaining in the race sat at the back with Toc coming to the line well behind stage winner Sebastian Brenes (7C-Economy-Lacoinex), who bested Guamá in the sprint.
The five riders soaked in the applause in the final hundred metres just as Jonas Vingegaard and Jumbo-Visma have done in the last two editions of the Tour de France.
Disaster struck within reach of the line when Alex Julajuj (judging by official results), who had been riding with one hand on his bars and one on Toc's shoulder, took his right hand off the bars to put them on Henry Sam's shoulder and lost his balance, bringing down all but Sam, who managed to stay upright.
It is a victory celebration that gave them 15 minutes of fame and one they will surely never forget.
