Stage 4: Aquiares - Playa Bonita (Limon) 120km
Ruta de los Conquistadores final
Ah, the post-race celebratory swim. (BikeRadar)
Mercifully, the 2007 La Ruta de los Conquistadores is done, but the finish didn't come without another day of epic Central American adventure.
Water was the key word for Saturday's stage 4 trip from Aquiares to Playa Bonita. Torrential rain doused riders from above, and giant puddles tormented them from below.
There was also a gruesome granny-gear climb to kick off the 75-mile
stage, plus numerous super-rough fire road descents, and sustained
sections of old railroad track that will scar the memory of many La Ruta competitors.
"I don't think that's too good for the body. It's definitely not good for the butt," said American Sue Haywood, who finished just off the wheel of stage 4 winner Louise Kobin, easily wrapping up the overall title. "I'm proud of myself for being able to suffer so much," added Haywood. "It's a really brutal race on the body and on your head. To see the train tracks stretch out in front of you for that long was super challenging."
The Trek-Volkswagen rider got it done, though, finishing the final stage three seconds back of Kobin, who posted a 6:06:18. Haywood's four-day total was 22:50:06, more than 50 minutes ahead of second-placed Kobin.
"I felt really good today," said Kobin who won La Ruta the first three times she raced, but has settled for second the last two years. "I'll come back. I like it down here."
Asked what it was the she liked Kobin simply pointed to the Caribbea sea, that was less than 50 feet from the finish line.
Costa Rican Federico Ramirez was the men's overall winner, but he too opted to follow wheels Saturday, ceding the stage win to Frenchman
Thomas Dietsch. Ramirez, Dietsch and stage 4 second-place finisher
Thomas Zahnd were part of a group of six that came together on one of
the paved sections that followed the long downhill from the coffee-growing region around Aquiares. Costa Ricans Paolo Montoya and Deiber Esquivel, and American Tinker Juarez also made the decisive selection.
"I clawed back into group on the road and everyone was working well
together," explained Juarez. "But then on the [train] tracks they just
gassed it and me and two of the Costa Ricans came off. Overall it's still a great result."
Indeed, despite being 10 years older than most of his peers in the men's open division, the 46-year-old Cannondale rider was the race's top North American, finishing fifth overall. Montoya was 28:29 behind Ramirez in second, with Dietsch and Esquivel slotted in third and fourth.
Ramirez's win was his fourth overall La Ruta title, and restored Costa Rica to its place atop the final podium. There had been a two-yea drought for the host nation, which won the first 12 editions of this race, before seeing Swiss legend derail that streak at the 2005 race. Last year Colombian Leonardo Paez took the win, but opted not to defend his title in 2007.
"It was important for my country and my sponsors to win this year," said Ramirez, 32, who also won the even in 1997, '98 and 2002. "This year was the hardest of my four wins because of the new fourth stage."
La Ruta expanded from three to four days this year, adding a new second
stage that bridged the gap from the end of stage 1 to the start of the old second stage. It's now a true ocean-to-ocean, transcontinental crossing.
"It was a great experience in a beautiful country," said Dietsch, who
planned on staying a few extra days to explore one of the country's
numerous national parks in hopes of spotting some wild life. "The race
was really hard. Everyday is difficult, but I was here to see Costa Rica and I've seen a lot of it, the beach, the mud, the jungles and some giant puddles."
Indeed, the last menacing test of this year's La Ruta was a series of
puddles left behind by incessant rains that continued on the race's final day.
"It was more than one meter deep in places," said Dietsch, hi amazement still evident. "There was three of at the front, and there was always a little game to see who would go in [to the puddle] first. You had to see if you could ride or if it was too deep and you had to walk. It was crazy."
© BikeRadar 2007
STAGE 4 RESULTS
Final general classification
Open men
1 Federico Ramirez Mendez (CRc) BCR-PIZZA HUT-POWERADE-KHS 17:40:21
2 Paolo Montoya Cantillo (CRc) Macosta Lee Cougan Santa Ana BCT 00:28:28
3 Thomas Dietsch (Fra) Gewiss Bianchi 00:44:36
4 Deiber Esquivel Benavides (CRc) IBP Pensiones 01:03:07
5 David 'Tinker' Juarez (USA) Cannondale 01:05:39
6 Juan Alberto Solis Rodas (CRc) BCR-PIZZA HUT-POWERADE-KHS 01:09:23
7 Thomas Zahnd (Swi) Team Stoeckli-Craft 01:40:33
8 Jason Sager (USA) MonaVie/Cannondale 01:58:11
9 Kris Sneddon (Can) Kona 02:09:46
10 Enrique Artavia Cedeira (CRc) Super Pro Banco BCT Santa Ana 02:14:18
Open women
1 Susan Haywood (USA) Trek / VW 22:50:02
2 Louise Kobin (USA) Sho Air/Rock and Road 00:43:19
3 Maria Alejandra Carvajal Brenes (CRc) BCR-PIZZA HUT-POWERADE-KHS 02:41:56
4 Trish Grajczyk (Can) Deadgoat Racing 04:38:20
5 Angela Parra Sierra (Col) SAFETY, Hammer Nutrition, BSS 04:51:09
6 Rebeca Hidalgo Vargas (CRc) Powerade 05:41:36
7 Tamara Goeppel (Can) Leki BikeXtreme 05:48:33
8 Jennifer Sica (USA) Schampa Racing 06:33:11
9 Fanny Paquette (Can) MountainBiking Magazine / Rocky Mountain 07:46:46
10 Caroline Pinard (Can) Corazon-CBRS 07:58:46
