Costa Rica’s La Ruta de Los Conquistadores wrapped up this weekend and Team Sho-Air / Cannondale athletes represented atop two podiums and on the second step of another!
Defending women’s champion Monique “Pua” Mata took all three stages and competed at the fast end of the men’s race. Pua won the women’s class by one hour and twenty-two minutes over Adriana Rojas. On the final stage, she was seen time-trialling towards the finish, towing some of the top-ranked men to the line! As evidence of Pua’s strength, in the overall of the Elite class, Pua would have placed 16th among the men!
Mata: “I’m thrilled to have won La Ruta again! I want to thank our crew Paul, Javier, Adam and George, we could not have done it without your first class support. I also want to thank Cannondale for their support and for supplying the best bike ever! And a final thank-you so much to Scott Tedro, for supporting us in what we love to do! Now for a bit of rest before planning for next year.”
- 1 MATA Pua Sho-Air / Cannondale 5:40:41 4:42:40 4:25:32 14:48:53
- 2 ROJAS Adriana Scotiabank 6:17:15 5:03:26 4:50:51 16:11:32
- 3 SORNSON Cheryl Team CF 6:27:48 5:03:27 5:04:42 16:35:57
Alex Grant had another great La Ruta, finishing in second place for the fourth time! Alex finished third with Todd Wells on stage one and moved into second overall the next day when Wells suffered multiple flat tires. The lead built up by overall winner Marconi Durán was just too much to overcome on the final stage, especially as the lead riders stayed together for a sprint finish, which was won by Federico Ramirez. Alex finished third-third-fourth on the stages, and added another second-place overall finish.
“Maybe next year I’ll come back for another second-place!” joked Alex. “I did everything I could to gain time back but just wasn’t able to claw back. This is such a great race, and these guys race it so hard. I’ll definitely be back to give it another go.”
- 1 DURAN Marconi Coopenae-Movistar 04:38:06 03:35:34 04:05:24 12:19:04
- 2 GRANT Alex Sho-Air / Cannondale 04:49:21 03:35:50 04:05:24 12:30:35
Sho-Air / Cannondale’s Manuel “Manny” Prado capped off a brilliant comeback from retirement by winning the Master’s 30-3 class. Manny won the Costa Rican National XC Championships just nine days prior to La Ruta and his great form continued throughout the challenging event. Manny’s local knowledge and killer attitude took him to the overall win in his class, while his time would have been enough for tenth place among the Elite class!
- 1 PRADO Manuel Sho-Air / Cannondale 05:21:12 04:02:23 04:30:30 13:54:05
Sho-Air / Cannondale team sponsor Carmichael Training Systems provided race support not only to the Sho-Air / Cannondale team but also to CTS members racing La Ruta. A dozen CTS athletes started La Ruta and 100% of them proudly finished La Ruta, including Chris Carmichael himself. Team Sho-Air / Cannondale congratulates all CTS members and all finishers of this incredible race!
Sho-Air’s Scott Tedro: “I am so proud of our team for their performance at La Ruta. Pua showed her class by repeating. Alex fought hard for that elusive overall. And for Manny to come back from retirement the way he did and not only win his national championship but also the tough Master class is just amazing.”
Photo © Christy Nicholson / EchelonDesignPhoto.com
