November 18, 2010 (Costa Rica) – Today 190 top endurance racers competed in the first day of La Ruta de los Conquistadores. La Ruta is known to be one of the most challenging mountain bike stage races around. The race has a total of 9,068 meters of elevation gain/loss and diverse terrain that includes rivers, mud, railroad bridges, active volcanoes, and humid jungles.

This year the field includes 176 men and 14 women – 50% of the racers are Costa Rican and 50% are international. The competition is intense; an estimated 15 men and four women have a chance to win the race.

Ben Sontagg (USA Cannondale Factory Team) won Stage1 of La Ruta with a total time of 5:58:38. Luis Mejia (Colombia Team Economy/Citi-Bank/Blue) took second with a time of 6:00:19 and Sonntag’s teammate Alex Grant (USA) placed third with a time of 6:01:07.

The competition was fierce as a Sontagg, Mejia, and Grant held together throughout the entire course. It was at the last 10 minutes of the course when Sonntag was able to brake away from the group of three, bringing along Mejía.

At the time of the final sprint Sonntag thought, “What the heck am I doing? I don’t know if I can hold this.” He did manage to hold his speed and quickly put distance between himself and his competitors. Sontagg and Grant agree that it is helpful to race with a teammate at the front of the pack. Grant reported the Cannondale Team would ultimately like to hold first and second place in the competition.

Angela Parra Takes First Place on Stage1
Colombian racer, Angela Parra, takes the podium today at the first stage of La Ruta de los Conquistadores 2010. Louise Kobin (USA) placed second and Rebecca Rusch (USA) came in third. Kobin and Parra rode together a good portion of the race until Parra pulled ahead at one of the everlasting hills.

Both of them made a wrong turn at one of the many intersections along the way, but after about three minutes a local pointed them in the right direction.

Parra was new to mountainbiking the first time she rode La Ruta; this year she has been training hard and expects to improve her performance. She felt very happy to come in first on the most difficult day of the race.

“I thank the sky and my team I managed to be first”, said Parra.

Kobin said she felt good about today and she just tried to follow her own pace since there is much road ahead and anything can happen in a race like La Ruta.

Rusch expressed feeling very happy about her performance today. Rusch said she feels good and is looking forward to racing tomorrow.

Favorite Ran on Low Pressure
Local rider “Lico” Ramírez was able to hold tight to the first pack yet his rear tire slowly deflated on the pavement section and forced him behind. Within a few kilometers Lico had already fallen over five minutes behind the front group.

The North American Sam Schultz was able to ride tight with the front pack yet fell behind after CheckPoint four, falling to 11th possition. Milton Ramos and Eddy Perez join the top five list.

Results

Women
1. Angela Parra Sierra (Col) 7:23:18
2. Louise Kobin (USA) 0:23:24
3. Rebecca Rusch (USA) 0:32:18
4. Brenda María Muñoz Arce (Crc) 1:20:12
5. Jane Rynbrandt (USA) 1:51:31
6. Ligia Madrigal (Crc) 1:56:27
7. Dianna Ineman (USA) 2:35:39
8. Kristin Kopec (Can) 2:59:16
9. Sandra Pereira M.O. Garnier (Prc) 3:38:46
10. April Sky Herring (USA) 3:39:42
11. Cassandra Lean Stamm (USA) 3:59:20
12. Lena Yarbrough (USA) 4:17:49
13. Dawn Fidler (USA) 4:35:32
14. Kathy Salisbury (USA) 4:40:00

Men
1. Benjamin Sonntag (Ger) 5:58:38
2. Luis Mejia Sanchez (Col) 0:01:41
3. Alex Grant (USA) 0:02:29
4. Milton Ramos (Crc) 0:09:03
5. Eddy Perez (Crc) 0:12:31
6. Federico Ramirez Mendez (Crc) 0:12:33
7. Santos Corea Gutierrez (Crc) 0:14:51
8. Alexander Sanchez Calderon (Crc) 0:20:17
9. Luis Leao Pinto (Prc) 0:20:51
10. Manuel Prado (Crc)
11. Samuel Tyler Schultz (USA) 0:21:46
12. Ismael Ventura sanchez (Esp) 0:24:12
13. Alfredo Cesar Acosta Gonzalez (Crc) 0:32:40
14. Thomas Turner (USA) 0:35:07
15. Juan carlos Fallas Rodriguez (Crc) 1:04:21
16. Juan Carlos Marin Valenciano (Crc) 1:07:12
17. Leonard Jason Tullous (USA) 1:16:22
18. Blake Harlan (USA) 1:27:23
19. Luis Diego Chaverri Madden (Crc) 1:34:10
20. James Andrew Lehman (USA) 1:38:30
21. Javier Lanzuela Sanchez (Esp) 1:42:56
22. Daniel Perez (USA) 1:51:58
23. Pavel Popiolek (Cze) 1:52:28
24. Alvaro José Lanuza Viquez (Crc) 1:53:26
25. Corey Scobie (USA) 2:01:12
26. Mario Alfredo Meneses Bonilla (Crc) 2:07:27
27. Adam Pulford (USA)
28. Felix Arratzoa Arrechea (Esp) 2:14:10
29. Allan Padilla U. (Crc) 2:14:29
30. Fernando Salazar (Crc)
31. Juan Pablo Venegas Herrera (Crc) 2:14:30
32. Rodrigo Herrera Solorzano (Crc) 2:23:19
33. Felipe Castro Barquero (Crc) 2:25:11
34. Javier Badilla Badilla (Crc)
35. Pablo Castrillo (Crc) 2:27:51
36. Heiner Mora Quiros (Crc)
37. Marco Amador Jimenez (Crc) 2:34:24
38. Arnoldo Loaiza Duran (Crc) 2:34:43
39. Victor Alonso Araya Pereira (Crc) 2:36:09
40. Jose Santos Blandon Miranda (Crc) 2:37:24
41. Matthew Ohran (USA) 2:39:01
42. Carlos Arce Estrada (Crc) 2:41:51
43. Leonel Gomez Navarro (Crc) 2:42:55
44. Iñigo Labat Yanguas (Esp) 2:44:26
45. Anthony Steve Fonseca Sanchez (Crc) 2:44:49
46. Max Araya Orozco (Crc) 2:44:52
47. Eric Kollai (USA) 2:46:17
48. Christopher Music (Crc) 2:46:39
49. Luis Arias Muñoz (Crc) 2:49:27
50. Luis fernando Mora Hidalgo (Crc) 2:50:59
51. Walter Blanco (Crc) 2:58:17
52. Iker Maíz (Mex) 2:58:56
53. Monte Hewett (USA) 3:03:10
54. Mauricio Alvarado Rivera (Crc) 3:03:30
55. Dirk Luttekes (Ned) 3:05:18
56. Ben Morris (USA) 3:09:20
57. Geovanny Gomez Navarro (Crc) 3:10:28
58. Andrew Slayton (USA) 3:11:48
59. Ron Castia (USA) 3:12:47
60. Mario Alberto Sanchez Hernandez (Crc) 3:13:45
61. Scott Kuppersmith (USA) 3:15:01
62. Leonel Chacon Chan (Crc) 3:18:47
63. Fernando José Hernandez Brenes (Crc) 3:21:47
64. Joe Czempoyesh (Can) 3:25:08
65. Van Dupree Council (USA) 3:26:36
66. Luis Rubi Quant (Crc) 3:28:21
67. Mauricio Richmond Padilla (Crc)
68. Andres Fernandez (Crc)
69. Seraphin John Millon (USA) 3:28:24
70. Roberto Monge Brenes (Crc) 3:31:28
71. Julio Mena monge (Crc)
72. Rolando Flores Guerrero (Mex) 3:31:32
73. Wilbert Solis Azofeifa (Crc) 3:33:47
74. Gigi Giyora Stahi (Crc) 3:36:11
75. Andrew Merrick (Can) 3:39:57
76. Jon Christian Carmichael (USA) 3:39:59
77. Stephanus Francois Millard (RSA) 3:42:30
78. John Christopher Sagebiel (USA)
79. John Paul Matzigkeit (USA) 3:43:32
80. Francisco Alfaro Morales (Crc) 3:45:44
81. Juan Manuel Bordallo Murillo (Crc) 3:46:26
82. Rafael Mesen Solis (Crc) 3:46:28
83. Gabriel Dario Montero Ramos (Ecu) 3:47:46
84. Modesto Jimenez Vargas (Crc) 3:51:15
85. David John Burke (Can) 3:56:02
86. Mario Albertry Rodriguez Sequeira (Crc) 3:56:40
87. Peter Ackerman (Swi) 4:00:19
88. Jonathan Chaves Calvo (Crc) 4:04:55
89. Carlos José Achan Sanchez (Crc) 4:04:57
90. Jerry José Zamora Rojas (Crc) 4:06:54
91. Danny A. corrales Zecca (Crc) 4:12:51
92. Martin Lorenzo y Lozada (Uru) 4:14:01
93. Diego Rapetti (Uru)
94. Bruno Carvalho (Prc) 4:14:19
95. Carlos Robles Cordero (Crc) 4:16:34
96. Juan Simon Ocaña Ortiz (Mex) 4:21:42
97. Alejandro Arias Victory (Crc) 4:22:37
98. Kenneth Sanabria (Crc) 4:22:40
99. Thomas F Smith (USA) 4:25:27
100. Mark Christopher Rago (USA) 4:31:58
101. Rob Bilich (Cro) 4:33:19
102. Chris Waldron (Can) 4:36:58
103. Martin Fuentes Ruiz (Crc) 4:37:18
104. Braulio Esteban Leiva Perez (Crc)
105. Anthony Damico Jr (USA) 4:41:28
106. Johann Kroll (Aut) 4:41:34
107. David Leal Cruz (Crc) 4:43:56
108. David Johnston (Can) 4:45:23
109. Silvia E. Cespedes Quesada (Crc) 4:48:38
110. Gem Pham (USA) 4:48:42
111. Henry Wong Castro (Crc) 4:48:43
112. Matt Luhn (USA) 4:50:30
113. Julio Molina Arias (Crc) 4:50:49
114. Gilbert Castro Chavarria (Crc) 4:50:57
115. Erick Diaz Vivian (Mex) 4:54:44
116. Walter Fernandez Vargas (Crc) 4:56:06
117. Francisco Sanchez Castillo (Crc) 4:59:57
118. Ignacio S. Merino Lanzilotti (Mex) 5:02:07
119. Carlos Calvo Ramazzini (Crc) 5:02:09
120. Jorge Salazar (Crc) 5:02:11
121. Lawson Willard (USA) 5:02:12
122. Robert Gehlen (USA) 5:02:14
123. Fernando Salazar Martinez (Mex) 5:04:30
124. Robert Quinn (USA) 5:07:05
125. Alberto José Gamboa Pacheco (Crc) 5:09:12
126. Olman Nuñez Varela (Crc) 5:12:33
127. Thomas Sandi campos (Crc) 5:12:35
128. Rafael A. Salazar Castro (Crc) 5:16:32
129. Gustavo Padilla Umaña (Crc) 5:22:42
130. Fidel Garza Chapa (Mex) 5:23:56
131. Patrick Haines (Crc) 5:23:58
132. Ronan Garnier (Fra)
133. Manuel Ulloa Gil (Crc) 5:32:09
134. Alan Arguello Diaz (Crc) 5:34:43
135. Luis Eduardo Peralta Orozco (Mex) 5:43:17
136. Juan Carlos Contreras Rave (Crc) 5:43:22
137. Heart Akerson (USA) 5:48:16
138. Marcel Bachmann (Swi) 5:54:44
139. Diego Gil Jimenez (Crc) 5:55:02
140. Jorge Ricardo Schiller (Mex) 5:55:34
141. Rolf Blancke (Crc)
142. Rodolfo Mata Lobo (Crc)
143. Marco Antonio Leal Gomez (Mex) 6:04:40
144. Mauricio J. Ortiz Odio (Crc) 6:05:19
145. Alvaro José Salazar Kruse (Crc) 6:05:34
146. Javier Sanchez Carranza (Crc) 6:19:14
147. Manuel Marco (Mex) 6:49:30
148. Hesiquio Merino Lanzilotti (Mex)
149. Mario Eduardo Hurtado Perez (Mex) 6:49:34
150. Esteban Roman (Crc) 6:50:48
151. Thomas Harvey (Gbr) 6:50:55

GC after Stage 1

Women

1. Angela Parra Sierra (Col) 7:23:18
2. Louise Kobin (USA) 0:23:24
3. Rebecca Rusch (USA) 0:32:18
4. Brenda María Muñoz Arce (Crc) 1:20:12
5. Jane Rynbrandt (USA) 1:51:31
6. Ligia Madrigal (Crc) 1:56:27
7. Dianna Ineman (USA) 2:35:39
8. Kristin Kopec (Can) 2:59:16
9. Sandra Pereira M.O. Garnier (Prc) 3:38:46
10. April Sky Herring (USA) 3:39:42
11. Cassandra Lean Stamm (USA) 3:59:20
12. Lena Yarbrough (USA) 4:17:49
13. Dawn Fidler (USA) 4:35:32
14. Kathy Salisbury (USA) 4:40:00

Men

1. Benjamin Sonntag (Ger) 5:58:38
2. Luis Mejia Sanchez (Col) 0:01:41
3. Alex Grant (USA) 0:02:29
4. Milton Ramos (Crc) 0:09:03
5. Eddy Perez (Crc) 0:12:31
6. Federico Ramirez Mendez (Crc) 0:12:33
7. Santos Corea Gutierrez (Crc) 0:14:51
8. Alexander Sanchez Calderon (Crc) 0:20:17
9. Luis Leao Pinto (Prc) 0:20:51
10. Manuel Prado (Crc)
11. Samuel Tyler Schultz (USA) 0:21:46
12. Ismael Ventura sanchez (Esp) 0:24:12
13. Alfredo Cesar Acosta Gonzalez (Crc) 0:32:40
14. Thomas Turner (USA) 0:35:07
15. Juan carlos Fallas Rodriguez (Crc) 1:04:21
16. Juan Carlos Marin Valenciano (Crc) 1:07:12
17. Leonard Jason Tullous (USA) 1:16:22
18. Blake Harlan (USA) 1:27:23
19. Luis Diego Chaverri Madden (Crc) 1:34:10
20. James Andrew Lehman (USA) 1:38:30
21. Javier Lanzuela Sanchez (Esp) 1:42:56
22. Daniel Perez (USA) 1:51:58
23. Pavel Popiolek (Cze) 1:52:28
24. Alvaro José Lanuza Viquez (Crc) 1:53:26
25. Corey Scobie (USA) 2:01:12
26. Mario Alfredo Meneses Bonilla (Crc) 2:07:27
27. Adam Pulford (USA)
28. Felix Arratzoa Arrechea (Esp) 2:14:10
29. Allan Padilla U. (Crc) 2:14:29
30. Fernando Salazar (Crc)
31. Juan Pablo Venegas Herrera (Crc) 2:14:30
32. Rodrigo Herrera Solorzano (Crc) 2:23:19
33. Felipe Castro Barquero (Crc) 2:25:11
34. Javier Badilla Badilla (Crc)
35. Pablo Castrillo (Crc) 2:27:51
36. Heiner Mora Quiros (Crc)
37. Marco Amador Jimenez (Crc) 2:34:24
38. Arnoldo Loaiza Duran (Crc) 2:34:43
39. Victor Alonso Araya Pereira (Crc) 2:36:09
40. Jose Santos Blandon Miranda (Crc) 2:37:24
41. Matthew Ohran (USA) 2:39:01
42. Carlos Arce Estrada (Crc) 2:41:51
43. Leonel Gomez Navarro (Crc) 2:42:55
44. Iñigo Labat Yanguas (Esp) 2:44:26
45. Anthony Steve Fonseca Sanchez (Crc) 2:44:49
46. Max Araya Orozco (Crc) 2:44:52
47. Eric Kollai (USA) 2:46:17
48. Christopher Music (Crc) 2:46:39
49. Luis Arias Muñoz (Crc) 2:49:27
50. Luis fernando Mora Hidalgo (Crc) 2:50:59
51. Walter Blanco (Crc) 2:58:17
52. Iker Maíz (Mex) 2:58:56
53. Monte Hewett (USA) 3:03:10
54. Mauricio Alvarado Rivera (Crc) 3:03:30
55. Dirk Luttekes (Ned) 3:05:18
56. Ben Morris (USA) 3:09:20
57. Geovanny Gomez Navarro (Crc) 3:10:28
58. Andrew Slayton (USA) 3:11:48
59. Ron Castia (USA) 3:12:47
60. Mario Alberto Sanchez Hernandez (Crc) 3:13:45
61. Scott Kuppersmith (USA) 3:15:01
62. Leonel Chacon Chan (Crc) 3:18:47
63. Fernando José Hernandez Brenes (Crc) 3:21:47
64. Joe Czempoyesh (Can) 3:25:08
65. Van Dupree Council (USA) 3:26:36
66. Luis Rubi Quant (Crc) 3:28:21
67. Mauricio Richmond Padilla (Crc)
68. Andres Fernandez (Crc)
69. Seraphin John Millon (USA) 3:28:24
70. Roberto Monge Brenes (Crc) 3:31:28
71. Julio Mena monge (Crc)
72. Rolando Flores Guerrero (Mex) 3:31:32
73. Wilbert Solis Azofeifa (Crc) 3:33:47
74. Gigi Giyora Stahi (Crc) 3:36:11
75. Andrew Merrick (Can) 3:39:57
76. Jon Christian Carmichael (USA) 3:39:59
77. Stephanus Francois Millard (RSA) 3:42:30
78. John Christopher Sagebiel (USA)
79. John Paul Matzigkeit (USA) 3:43:32
80. Francisco Alfaro Morales (Crc) 3:45:44
81. Juan Manuel Bordallo Murillo (Crc) 3:46:26
82. Rafael Mesen Solis (Crc) 3:46:28
83. Gabriel Dario Montero Ramos (Ecu) 3:47:46
84. Modesto Jimenez Vargas (Crc) 3:51:15
85. David John Burke (Can) 3:56:02
86. Mario Albertry Rodriguez Sequeira (Crc) 3:56:40
87. Peter Ackerman (Swi) 4:00:19
88. Jonathan Chaves Calvo (Crc) 4:04:55
89. Carlos José Achan Sanchez (Crc) 4:04:57
90. Jerry José Zamora Rojas (Crc) 4:06:54
91. Danny A. corrales Zecca (Crc) 4:12:51
92. Martin Lorenzo y Lozada (Uru) 4:14:01
93. Diego Rapetti (Uru)
94. Bruno Carvalho (Prc) 4:14:19
95. Carlos Robles Cordero (Crc) 4:16:34
96. Juan Simon Ocaña Ortiz (Mex) 4:21:42
97. Alejandro Arias Victory (Crc) 4:22:37
98. Kenneth Sanabria (Crc) 4:22:40
99. Thomas F Smith (USA) 4:25:27
100. Mark Christopher Rago (USA) 4:31:58
101. Rob Bilich (Cro) 4:33:19
102. Chris Waldron (Can) 4:36:58
103. Martin Fuentes Ruiz (Crc) 4:37:18
104. Braulio Esteban Leiva Perez (Crc)
105. Anthony Damico Jr (USA) 4:41:28
106. Johann Kroll (Aut) 4:41:34
107. David Leal Cruz (Crc) 4:43:56
108. David Johnston (Can) 4:45:23
109. Silvia E. Cespedes Quesada (Crc) 4:48:38
110. Gem Pham (USA) 4:48:42
111. Henry Wong Castro (Crc) 4:48:43
112. Matt Luhn (USA) 4:50:30
113. Julio Molina Arias (Crc) 4:50:49
114. Gilbert Castro Chavarria (Crc) 4:50:57
115. Erick Diaz Vivian (Mex) 4:54:44
116. Walter Fernandez Vargas (Crc) 4:56:06
117. Francisco Sanchez Castillo (Crc) 4:59:57
118. Ignacio S. Merino Lanzilotti (Mex) 5:02:07
119. Carlos Calvo Ramazzini (Crc) 5:02:09
120. Jorge Salazar (Crc) 5:02:11
121. Lawson Willard (USA) 5:02:12
122. Robert Gehlen (USA) 5:02:14
123. Fernando Salazar Martinez (Mex) 5:04:30
124. Robert Quinn (USA) 5:07:05
125. Alberto José Gamboa Pacheco (Crc) 5:09:12
126. Olman Nuñez Varela (Crc) 5:12:33
127. Thomas Sandi campos (Crc) 5:12:35
128. Rafael A. Salazar Castro (Crc) 5:16:32
129. Gustavo Padilla Umaña (Crc) 5:22:42
130. Fidel Garza Chapa (Mex) 5:23:56
131. Patrick Haines (Crc) 5:23:58
132. Ronan Garnier (Fra)
133. Manuel Ulloa Gil (Crc) 5:32:09
134. Alan Arguello Diaz (Crc) 5:34:43
135. Luis Eduardo Peralta Orozco (Mex) 5:43:17
136. Juan Carlos Contreras Rave (Crc) 5:43:22
137. Heart Akerson (USA) 5:48:16
138. Marcel Bachmann (Swi) 5:54:44
139. Diego Gil Jimenez (Crc) 5:55:02
140. Jorge Ricardo Schiller (Mex) 5:55:34
141. Rolf Blancke (Crc)
142. Rodolfo Mata Lobo (Crc)
143. Marco Antonio Leal Gomez (Mex) 6:04:40
144. Mauricio J. Ortiz Odio (Crc) 6:05:19
145. Alvaro José Salazar Kruse (Crc) 6:05:34
146. Javier Sanchez Carranza (Crc) 6:19:14
147. Manuel Marco (Mex) 6:49:30
148. Hesiquio Merino Lanzilotti (Mex)
149. Mario Eduardo Hurtado Perez (Mex) 6:49:34
150. Esteban Roman (Crc) 6:50:48
151. Thomas Harvey (Gbr) 6:50:55