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Ramirez, Haywood take La Ruta overall

by VeloNews.com

• November 18, 2007
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By Fred Dreier

Ramirez rollin’ it

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Costa Rica’s Federico “Lico” Ramirez (BCR-Pizza Hut) and American Susan Haywood (Trek-Volkswagen) took overall wins at the 15th annual La Ruta de los Conquistadores mountain-bike stage race in Costa Rica.

It was Haywood’s first visit to La Ruta, while Ramirez, also an accomplished road racer, became the only person to claim four La Ruta titles. Both riders took three stage wins en route to overall victory.

After the race Ramirez said he would be back to try for number five.

Central America’s largest bike race concluded on Saturday with the 125km fourth stage from the mountain hamlet of Aquiares to the Playa Bonita beachfront in the coastal town of Limon. Riders opened the day with a punishing steep 5km climb through coffee fields and tackled a series of rolling rocky terrain through the rainy slopes of Costa Rica’s eastern volcanic mountains. Nearly half of the parcours was on flatland — but the abundance of railroad sections and hike-a-bike trestle crossings made the journey a frustrating and bumpy affair.

The final sprint

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Ramirez, who dominated the field on the climbs through the first three stages, appeared content to follow wheels and preserve his lead. The Costa Rican strongman was joined by French marathon champion Thomas Dietsch (Gewiss-Bianchi), Swiss Thomas Zahnd (Stoeckli-Craft) and Costa Ricans Paolo Montoya and Deiber Esquivel. The ageless Tinker Juarez (Cannondale) also made the selection.

Dietsch, Zahnd and Ramirez eventually separated themselves during the tricky railroad sections, and coming into the beach finish, Ramirez let the two Europeans know he would not contest the sprint. Dietsch proved the man with the strongest kick — both men celebrated their first La Ruta finishes with a dunk in the Caribbean.

Juarez, in his third La Ruta attempt, crossed the line in sixth place, which put him in fifth overall and the top American.

Haywood also appeared happy to ride with her closest competitor, three-time La Ruta champ Louise Kobin (Sho-Air). The two spent much of the day together, with Haywood trailing Kobin on the railroad sections and trestle walks. The Trek rider did not contest the sprint at the end, adding that Kobin deserved the stage for setting the pace for much of the day.

Race notes
The race saw early departures by Canadian Max Plaxton (Rocky Mountain-Haywood) and Swiss strongman Sandro Spaeth (Texner-Stockli-BMC) due to stomach illness after stage 3.

Costa Rican William Barquero took the Master A (30-39) category ahead of Mexican Jose Bernal. Canadian Mike Charuk of Team Whistler was the overall champ in Master B (40-49), successfully holding off American Stewart Stafford. And Canada’s Sandy Mitchell took the overall in the the Veteran (50 and over) category.

American Heart Akerson finished his 10th La Ruta in 14th place in the veteran’s division. Akerson rode the entire 225-mile journey in his customary dress — cutoff jean shorts and sandals.

Dietsch takes a dip

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American Brandon Dwight finished his first La Ruta in 14th place, 3:12:54 on Ramirez. Canada’s Andreas Hestler completed his second La Ruta by moving up one place from 2006 — Hestler finished 17 overall.

La Ruta de los Conquistadores
Final overall
Open men
1. Federico Ramirez Mendez (CR), BCR-Pizza Hut-Powerade-KHS; 17:40:21
2. Paolo Montoya (CR), Macosta Lee Cougan Santa Ana BCT, at 28:28
3. Thomas Dietsch (F), Gewiss-Bianchi, at 44: 36
4. Deiber Esquivel (CR), IBP Pensiones, at 1:03:07
5. David Juarez (USA), Cannondale, at 1:05:39
6. Juan Alberto Solis (CR), BCR- Pizza Hut-Powerade-KHS, at 1:09:23
7. Thomas Zahnd (Swi), Team Stoeckli-Craft, at 1:40:33
8. Jason Sager (USA), MonaVie/Cannondale, at 1:58:11
9. Kris Sneddon (Can), Kona, at 2:09:46
10. Enrique Artavia (CR), Super Pro Banco BCT SantaAna, at 2:14:18

Open women
1. Susan Haywood (USA), Trek-Volkswagen, 22:50:02
2. Louise Kobin (USA), Sho Air-Rock and Road, at 43:19
3. Maria Alejandra Carvajal Brenes (CR), BCR- Pizza Hut-Powerade-KHS, at 2:41:56
4. Trish Grajczyk (Can), Deadgoat Racing, at 4:38:20
5. Angela Parra Sierra (Col), Hammer Nutrition, at 4:51:09
6. Rebeca Hidalgo Vargas (CR), Powerade, at 5:41:36
7. Tamara Goeppel (Can), Leki BikeXtreme, at 5:48:33
8. Jennifer Sica (USA), Schampa Racing, at 6:33:11
9. Fanny Paquette (Can), Mountain Biking Magazine-Rocky Mountain, at 7:46:46
10. Caroline Pinard (Can), Corazon-CBRS, at 7:58:46

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