Leonardo Paez Wins La Ruta
By Mike Davis, Bikemagic.com

Day 1: Best Western Jacó Beach Hotel (Jacó Beach, Pacific Coast) to El Rodeo Horse Farm (Ciudad Colón) - 97.5km

510 riders registered for La Ruta De La Conquistadores in Costa Rica, with 483 of them actually showing up on the start line. Presumably some of them were still in bed - the official start time was 5.15am, although the field actually headed out a few minutes later.

It's a measure of how tough the first stage was that first man home Leonardo Paez (Full Dynamix) took over twelve hours to complete it. It's the Colombian's first crack at La Ruta, and he was surprised by how challenging it was. He resorted to walking several climbs - "I thought it would be tough, but not this tough," he said at the finish.

Second in the stage was Jeremiah Bishop (Volkswagen-Trek). The Americal rider suffered a disintegrated cassette but managed to keep going, finishing fifteen minutes down on Paez.

In third, and first Costa Rican on the day, was 20 year old Andrei Amador. Behind him was fellow local Federico Pérez, with Tinker Juarez in fifth. Last year's winner Thomas Frischknecht came in 12th.

Day 2: Terramall (Tres Ríos) to Aquiares (Turrialba) - 66.7km

The second day of La Ruta de los Conquistadores started at a relatively leisurely 6.40am, with the 350 remaining riders heading towards the Irazu and Turrialba volcanos under a clear sky. The same three riders - Paez, Bishop and Amador - filled the top three spots in the same order as Day 1, but much closer together.

The race is over for Jeremiah Bishop, though. Descending at high speed through a coffee plantation just minutes from the line, he lost control, crashed and fractured his nose and jaw. He still managed to finish the stage, but then it was off to hospital - he'll have surgery to put some bits back together again and then be off home to the US to recover.

In the Women's General category Canadian Marg Fedyna (Bungalow Boys) was first home, followed closely by three-time La Ruta winner, Louise Kobin (X Fusion-Adidas-Magura) and Hillary Harrison (Kenda Tires Mo Training).


Day 3: Aquiares (Turrialba) to Bonita Beach (Limón, Caribbean Coast) - 122km

The final day of the race was the longest, but not the hardest. It's all relative, though. Local rider Andrei Amador (BCR/Pizza Hut KHS) took victory on the final stage, giving the home crowd something to cheer about at the finish. Italian Marzio Deho was second, with Amador's team mate Federico Ramírez third.

But after winning the first two stages, Leonardo Paez had enough time in hand to take the overall title despite only coming in fourth on the final day. And was this the toughest race he's competed in? "Yes, I agree. This is another important achievement. It's definitively the hardest race I've been to, mainly the first stage," he said at the finish.

Previous winner Thomas Frischknecht was 10th overall. Marg Fedyna (bungalowboys.com) won the women's category ahead of Louise Kobin (XFusion) and Hillary Harrison (Kenda Tires Giant).

2007 will be the fifteenth La Ruta, and the organisers have announced that there'll be an extra day to celebrate. So that'll make the race at least 30% harder, probably...
Overall results

Open
1. Leonardo Paez Leon (Full Dynamix) COL 14:01:52
2. Andrey Amador (BCR-Pizza Hut-KHS) CRC 14:26:33
3. Federico Ramírez (BCR-Pizza Hut-KHS) CRC 14:39:49
4. Deiber Esquivel (IBP) 15:19:35
5. Marzio Deho (Olimpia) 15:21:10
6. Tinker Juarez (Cannondale USA) USA 15:23:13

Master A
1. Daniel Soler (Bike 4 Fun) SUI 16:45:41
2. William Vargas (Scott) CRC 17:03.37
3. Melvin Rojas (Litespeed-Ciclo Guilly-FOX) CRC 17:20:05

Master B
1. Andrea Bianco (Full Dynamix) ITA 18:30:13
2. Peter Stenico (Peto Bike Zams) AUT 18:36:27
3. David Fonseca (Bike Station) CRC 18:48:23

Women
1. Marg Fedyna (bungalowboys.com) CAN 19:11:15
2. Louise Kobin (XFusion) USA 20:23:23
3. Hillary Harrison (Kenda Tires Giant) USA 20:39:07

Veterans
1. Jim Gibson (Absolute Bikes) USA

Full results and more information at www.adventurerace.com.