La Ruta de los Conquistadores
Stage 4 - Downhill to the Beach
Cory Wallace / 15.11.2009
With the layout of the course on the day the key to having a good day is to get over the first three climbs with the fastest guys possible to be able to work with them on the flats. This "flat" stage of La Ruta isn't exactly flat as the first two climbs are around 4-5km each on typical straight up Costa Rican roads. Heading out with the lead group of 12 I managed to get over the first 2 climbs with them before hitting some serious troubles. Two broken chains, 1 broken front derrailure and a bent rear derrailur later I found myself back in the middle of the field with a three speed bike. Now in my third La Ruta it seems that everybody has at least one gongshow day in the race. This yr it seemed like 80% of the top competitors had such fortunes with Bishop (4 bad luck days), Tinker (dnf'd due to being lost) and Heras (stomach problems) all suffering disapointing fates. With so many riders having bad days it seems the key to having a succesful La Ruta is like the story of the Turtle and the Rabbit.
Having lost my hope of a top 10 on the day and riding a broken bike I was rattled but it all changed when I got to the railroad tracks and hopped on for a trolly ride. Standing on the moving platform I was stoked as I could lube my chain, eat some food and all at the same time catch up to a few riders ahead tip toeing across the bridge. After that I settled in for a scenic ride along the ocean in now pooring rain to the finish line at Bonita beach. With the torrential rains over the last few days the course had to be changed as the river we use to cross was now in a full on rage and would've for sure sent a few riders downstream into the ocean.
Riding up from the back of the field today gave me a chance to see just how blown riders were after the 4 day ride across Costa Rica and made me think just how epic this journey is for the average rider that takes 9 hrs a day to ride the course.
The winners on the day were Deiber Esquival in the men's side for the third straight day and Lousi Kobin in the Womans race. Although Esquival won the last 3 days, misfortunes on day 1 kept him back in the GC and local ride Manual Prado (Sho-Air) hung on to the yellow leaders jersey. On the womans side Louis Kobin also won the last 3 stages and today she had to make up close to 5 minutes on Womans leader Adrian Rojas, which she did and more as she came in over 20 minutes ahead to claim her fourth title at La Ruta.
With the rain now in torrential form, riders sat undercover at a beachfront restaurant watching the other riders cruise onto the Caribean beach to end a epic journey across a spectacular country. After beers, food and the awards ceremony riders set off on buses back to San Jose to head back to there homes across the globe. Rumour has it some riders may get stuck at customs as they try and leave the country as many bikes reportadly had turtles get stuck in the hubs today as the riders road in waste deep water along the railroad tracks.
With another La Ruta come and gone I am sure I will be back for more as each yr the race is a whole different story as the conditions here are set up for an adventure that the riders will never forget.
SleepMonsters
