November 13/08 10:20 am - La Ruta de los Conquistadores: Photos, Report and Results from Day 2

Posted by Editoress on 11/13/08
 

La Ruta de los Conquistadores Costa Rica


Photos

After stage one, it looked like 'Lico' Ramirez (BCR-Pizza Hut) had the 2008 La Ruta all sewn up, with a 10-plus minute lead over arch rival Paolo Montoya (Economy Rent A Car). However, Montoya stormed back on stage two and erased nearly three minutes off his deficit, while Enrique Artavia (Super Pro-Economy) proved his third place on stage one was not a fluke by taking the final podium spot once again.

Foreign favourites Thomas Dietsch (Gewiss-Bianchi) and Roberto Heras (Giant) finished fourth and sixth respectively, losing more time to the three leaders. Adriana Rojas (Bemosa/PQ), a first time La Ruta entrant, won her second stage in the women's category, while Canada's Sandra Walter (Felt-X.O.) improved from fourth to second by continuing her strategy of steady consistent riding. Mark Charuk (Team Whistler) solidified his lead in the Master B category.

This 76.4 kilometre transition stage around the capital of San Jose may have been shorter than stage one's marathon 110 kilometres, but the 4000-plus metres of climbing more than made up for the shorter distance. The ultra steep climbs and bone jarring descents give little time to rest; a moments inattention could put a rider on the ground - which what happened to Ramirez at one point.

Montoya lives next to the steep gravel opening climb, and knew that he needed to be aggressive to get back into the race. "I attacked right away, at Kilometre Zero. Lico was chasing, but then he crashed on the first descent, so it took a while for him to catch me after that."

The two top Costa Rican riders were already over five minutes up on a chase group containing Dietsch, Heras, Artavia and Marvin Campos (Super Pro-Economy) as they hit the longest paved climb.

"Lico was attacking me on the climb," explained Montoya "but I would not let him get away, and for the final descent I was able to open a gap pretty quick."

Behind, there was a battle underway for the third podium spot. Heras showed his climbing legs on the main climb, initially opening a gap of over a minute on Dietsch, Campos and Artavia, however, they gradually clawed him back, setting the stage for Artavia to roll away from the others on the descent. Dietsch won the three-up sprint for fourth.

Montoya's superior descending skills should make for a very interesting third stage. After a 35 kilometre climb to the highest point of La Ruta (3010 metres), the riders then descend for 30 kilometres. This is a rocky, treacherous descent, where more than one rider has come to grief through crashes or flats, and time gaps are measured in many minutes at the finish. If Montoya can stick with Ramirez on the climb, we could see a tight battle for the overall lead.