Spanish cyclist Josep Betalú won the opening stage of the Ruta de los Conquistadores mountain bike race in Costa Rica on Thursday, while Lance Armstrong lost more than three hours.
The organizers of the event, one of the most difficult mountain bike events on the planet, reported that Betalú completed the 86 kilometers of stage one in 4 hours 57 minutes 16 seconds, followed by locals Carlos Arias with 5h09: 30 and Federico Ramírez with 5h16: 45.
The Spaniard is the defending champion of this event, which emulates paths made by the Spanish conquerors centuries ago in the Central American country.
Lance Armstrong, a first-timer in this event, recreationally by his own admission, crossed the finish line in 82nd place with a time of 8h31:34, more than 3 hours behind the stage winner.
The first stage took the more than 400 cyclists from Jacó Beach, Puntarenas province (central Pacific) to Ciudad Colón, in the center of the country, a distance of 86 kilometers covering rivers, mountains, and tropical forests.
The second stage will be on Friday from Tres Ríos, province of Cartago (center), to Turrialba, Cartago (east), slightly shorter at 80 kilometers. The final stage will be on Saturday covering 60 kilometers between Siquirres and Playa Bonita, both locations in the province of Limón (Caribbean).
Over the course of three days of the event, the cyclists will ride 226 kilometers, including a challenging 6,764 meters of accumulated ascent and 6,701 meters of descent.
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