November 15, 2007 (Terramall, Costa Rica) – Max Plaxton (Can) Rocky Mountain Bicycles/Haywood earned the wooden nickel* today. On an epic day of climbing with unbelievable proportions and steepness, Max came up slightly short in the final sprint. The shoot out for the final podium spot was won by Paulo Montoya (Macosta Lee Cougan Santa Ana BCT).

Frederico Ramirez (BCR-Pizza Hut-Poweraid-KHS ) continued to dominate the 2007 edition of La Ruta winning by four minutes ahead of his teammate Juan Alberto Solis Rodas(BCR-Pizza Hut-Poweraid-KHS) who was just 30 seconds ahead of the sprinting duo.

Not at all disappointed, Max was planning a steadier day than yesterday and just found he had the legs to go with all the moves. The day began with 10km of gravel road climbs – some barely rideable for the pros — which must have been very difficult for the majority of participants. This early “sorting out” pretty much determined the days results. A few changes happened on the GC (general classification) but all in all, those that had the ability to contend for their titles maintained them.

Following the gravel climb came a steep descent, and then it really started to go up and up and up, 25km only interrupted by two slight descents. This steep paved climb would prove to be one of the most amazing pieces of road engineering ever witnessed. Pitch after pitch of 8-17% non-stop grade and knowing it went on for 25km just wasn’t a mental boost. The only saving grace was the cloud cover and gentle breeze that played over our completely soaked kits and brought some relief from the heat, humidity, lung burn and leg burn.

Kris Sneddon (Kona) was feeling the effects of yesterday but was not at all unhappy with the overall performance and feeling his body was able to give him. The young guns (Max and Kris) were once again pretty excited about the whole nature of the La Ruta experience and commented that “this makes all the training we do look like fluff and all the races we have done in the past seem small,” said Sneddon.

The “˜Mud bog’ was the final coup d grace, what an amazing conclusion to a super tough day. After 70 kilometers of ruthless climbing we hung a tight right and began to hike our bikes up a loose river bed. This was followed by a muddy descent, a wall of mud 100 meters high and trenched with slippery water bars. The defining geography that will forever be etched in the participant’s minds for stage 2 will be this wall and the muddy trail that lead down to the finish.

Canuck Tony Routley (Team Whistler/Rocky Mountain Bicycles) held on to his leader’s jersey in the Veterans category and in fact put more time into the competition. Truly a mountain man Tony found himself at home in the hills and simply rode his own pace to put his stamp of domination onto the race.

In contrast after finishing second in the Master B’s yesterday Tony’s training partner Mike Charuk (Team Whistler/Rocky Mountain Bicycles) moved from second to first, but is hanging onto the slimmest of margins, only 3 seconds ahead of his closest competitor.

In the women’s race Sue Haywood (USA) Trek/Volkswagen charged ahead of 2nd place Louise Korbin (USA) Sho-Air in the early parts of the course. Somewhere about the middle of the main climb Louise re-connected with Sue, but couldn’t maintain the connection. Sue commented, “I was running a little scared after Louise came up to me and I was forced to push the pace throughout the last part of the main climb into the descent and the final “˜Mud Bog’.” Canada’s Trish Grajczyk (Deadgoat Racing) finished a very solid fourth.

I just spoke with Samantha Phillips who crashed out of the race yesterday while mixing it up with the lead duo of Sue and Louise. Samantha’s crash occurred early in the day at the beginning of the Carara Jungle section; she momentarily lost focus and caught a water bar. Amazingly enough she pushed through the entire jungle section fo almost one hour with a broken collar bone and a huge contusion – having to carry ones bike through thick mud and push up long hike-a-bike sections couldn’t have been easy in her condition. She will continue to follow the race over the next couple of days and cheer on her fellow Canadians. Good luck with your recovery fellow riders as Day 3 begins early tomorrow.

*A term that refers to the 4th position on a podium

Ruta Notes
– Dean Payne founder of the BC Bike Race is having a great time and exceeding his expectations
– James Wilson owner of Obsession Bikes in N. Vancouver has come back to racing after six years and what a choice for a comeback.
– I am coming around after a tough first day and look to have more fun breaking my legs and my body over the next two days
– Tomorrow we climb the Irazu Volcano at the center of Costa Rica, if the weather permits we should be able to see both coasts from our highest point.
– Jon Wong who was predicted to crack after stage one is hanging tough and looking good for a solid finish.