Haywood take La Ruta overall

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.


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.