Costa Rican Ronald Araya on Sunday won the first leg of the Vuelta Ciclísta a Costa Rica, a multi-day cycling race that began with a course from the capital San José to the Caribbean port of Limón.
The Tico Times caught up with racers just before the starting gun at 7 a.m. A thick fog blanketed the hills of Tres Ríos, and riders looked road-weary after the first day’s push from Jacó to Atenas. But several athletes were happy to discuss their experience.
The 22nd Ruta de los Conquistadores bike race kicked off this morning, and a new cohort of wheelsmen will battle for first place. As usual, the competition touts itself as “the toughest mountain bike race on the planet.” But is that true? And what makes the Ruta so particularly hard?
Thanks to “BicipúbliCartago,” a joint project between the Municipality of Cartago and the Dutch Embassy, the city has now received 100 new bicycles available for public use. While the “ride share” concept is extremely popular in Europe and increasingly common in the United States, BicipúbliCartago is the first example in Costa Rica.
