This Thursday, October 30, the seventh stage of the 2025 Tour of Guatemala took place, a demanding 137-kilometer route from San Francisco El Alto to San Pedro Sacatepéquez, San Marcos, with over 2,100 meters of accumulated elevation gain.
Mexican José Ramón Muñiz of Olinka Specialized achieved his first stage victory in this 64th edition, winning solo after a finish marked by a mass crash.
Muñiz, 23, launched a decisive attack in the final kilometer to cross the finish line with a time of 3:22:48. Juan Carlos López of GW-Erco-Shimano finished second, 5 seconds behind, while the overall leader, Cristian Camilo Muñoz of Nu Colombia, came in third with the same time, gaining four valuable bonus seconds.
Colombian Cristian Muñoz retained the yellow jersey for the fourth consecutive day, slightly extending his lead thanks to the time bonuses he earned at the finish line, while Julio Ispaché remains the highest-placed Guatemalan in the general classification.
From the opening kilometers, the stage was fiercely contested with continuous breakaway attempts. Guatemalan Juan Mardoqueo Vásquez livened up the early stages after catching up with the breakaway and contesting the intermediate sprints in Salcajá, where Ulises Castillo took both the first and second sprints, followed by Pedro Pablo Morales and Vásquez.
In the third and final intermediate sprint, Sebastián Brenes of Canel’s Java took the 5 points, while Alejandro Osorio earned valuable points to become the new leader of this classification with a total of 32 points.
The day’s decisive breakaway consisted of four riders, including two Guatemalans. Gerson Toc of ECA Electricidad Ciclismo, Esdras Morales also of ECA Electricidad, Nelson Panjoj of the Chimaltenango Association, and Sebastián Calderón of 7C-Economy-Hyundai distinguished themselves after the third intermediate sprint held at the Quetzaltenango Airport.
Nelson Panjoj was the Guatemalan star of the day. On the first-category climb to Palestina, the cyclist from Chimaltenango proved to be the strongest of the breakaway group, crossing the summit first and also taking the Santa Irene mountain prize.
Around kilometer 120, a mass crash on the descent before the final climb completely changed the course of the stage. The incident affected several cyclists in the peloton, including Guatemalan Gerson Toc, who, although he had a lead in the breakaway, was severely impacted by the accident. Also involved in the crash were Rodrigo Contreras, Yesid Pira, and Brandon Rojas, among others, creating chaos in the peloton and allowing José Ramón Muñiz, with his great skill on technical sections, to manage the situation and launch his victorious attack.
New leaders in secondary classifications
Juan Carlos López took over as the new leader of the mountains classification with 38 points, displacing Yeison Reyes. Alejandro Osorio assumed the lead in the intermediate sprints with 32 points after his performance in the third stage of the day.
The GW-Erco-Shimano team continues to lead the team classification, demonstrating the depth and strength of its roster, and Óscar Santiago Garzón also maintains his lead in the young rider classification, solidifying his status as one of the most promising talents in Colombian cycling.