La Ruta de los Conquistadores
Day 1 - Weeding out the Weak
Cory Wallace / 13.11.2008
The day started with numerous small crashes as the riders tried to steady their nerves and sort out their international differences. After an easy 18 km on pavement the real La Ruta began and the mud started to fly as the riders headed over the first climb and into the mudlands of Carrera Park. Roberto Heras (5th on the day) was quoted as saying this was the hardest thing he had ever done on his bike. This coming from rider who lead Lance Armstong to victory in many Tour de Frances says something ...
Between sliding down mudshoots, wading through rivers and hiking for miles, this part of the day would be the beginning of the end for many. After this treacherous bit the race headed back to the 5000 m of climbing on the day and pretty soon many riders found themselves riding alone as the race weeded away the weak.
For the last 45 km I road my bike alone without seeing another rider, just one snake and a couple dozen cows. Heading into the last climb with 95% of the riders bonking, the Costa Ricans alongside the trail start telling the riders the finish was 4 km away when in reality it was closer to 20km. Great people, not so great sense of humour.
Once across the finish line it was off to the showers, food then the entertainment of watching the other riders come across the line in a late afternoon rainstorm and listening the stories from the survivors of the day. The hardest part for many of the riders is knowing at 7am tomorrow it all starts again ...
SleepMonsters
