The second stage of La Ruta de los Conquistadores came to an end with Carlos Arias taking the first place while current champion, Spaniard Josep Betalú, who won the first stage maintained the first place in the overall table.

“Arias, 19 years-old, crossed the finish line alongside Betalú with a time of 3 hours, 31 minutes and 45 seconds. But despite the victory of the tico, the Spaniard leaves the door open to be crowned for the second consecutive time in Playa Bonita. Of course, he must be wary of accidents and keep close to Arias, and Federico ‘Lico’ Ramírez, who despite finishing fifth on Friday, is still third in the general classification with a difference of 29 minutes with 6 seconds. The American Josiah Middaugh is fourth with a difference of 31 minutes with 31 seconds of the leader”, explains the press release.

“I won a big difference (in time) in the first stage, it was extremely difficult, very technical and the lack of experience for a kid as young as Arias takes its toll, today I just went out to pull up, I put up with him a bit, he came in and I told him we could go together up to the top, he has endured well, I took a good step and he was right behind me, he never left me, in the end he has deserved this victory because the kid is very good, he has a lot of courage. When I aim to win the general, I do not think on winning each stage or partial times, I am happy to keep my first place in the overall. It’s a dream to win my second Ruta de los Conquistadores, it would be the cherry on top of my season,” said Betalú after the race.

For his part, Arias said that “it was a very hard stage, but thank God I made it and I was able to get here with Betalú who took the first slope at a strong pace from the beginning, at the end I was able to catch up to him, I continued the rest of the ride with him and he left me the stage because he has 12 minutes in the lead. Of course, tomorrow each of us goes on their own, it is a flat but hard stage, I am not familiar with it, but I will go for it”.

Armstrong, Pura Vida!

La Ruta de los Conquistadores took a turn for the better for Lance Armstrong. The legend of world cycling improved his performance greatly in this second stage after suffering the heat and humidity of the Carara National Park on the opening day.

Going from hot weather to cold in this stage, the American pedaled hard and finished in position 22, 50 minutes with 49 seconds behind Arias.

Armstrong was cheered by the large number of fans present in his path, and even won the love of the Ticos with words like “Pura Vida Costa Rica” and “Costa Rica, great country”, while still climbing the mountains of Cartago. He moved up from position 76 to 59 in the male general classification, 4 hours, 25 minutes and 7 seconds behind Betalú.

The Feminine Cateogory changed lead, Katherine Herrera won the second stage, but Eunice Rojas is the new leader after the American rider Larissa Fitchett suffered a health problem, which made her leave the competition, and therefore lost the lead. Larissa, who had an advantage of 29 points to Eunice, was transferred to Max Peralta Hospital in Cartago as a preventive measure.

Herrera reached the Catie with a time of 5 hours, 6 minutes and 36 seconds, followed by Rojas who was behind 3 minutes with 9 seconds and Renne Lockey, behind 5 minutes with 32 seconds. The other best Tica was Leonora Jimenez, who reached the finish line 17 minutes and 53 seconds from Herrera.

Of course, in the general classification, Eunice Rojas goes to the top with a cumulative of 12:43:23 after two stages. Herrera is second with a difference of 23 minutes with 445 seconds, while Jennifer Toops is third by difference of 43 minutes with 28 seconds.

This Saturday will be the third and final stage of this 26th edition of La Ruta de los Conquistadores with 60 km of route between the center of Siquirres (starts at 1:00 p.m.) and Playa Bonita de Limón. Previous, there will be recreational rafting on the Pacuare River, for those who want to do it.