El Reto de Los Volcanes stage race set for April

In its fourth edition, El Reto de los Volcanes - also known as "El Reto" will draw racer to Costa Rica for three days of mountain bike stage racing over the slopes of five volcanoes. The race will kick off on Saturday, April 9 and finish 245km later on Sunday, April 11.

The race traverses several protected forest areas and visits limited-access cloudforest singletrack. With 2,000 cumulative meters of climbing and technical descending, racers will experience several types of tropical ecosystems, rapidly changing weather and high altitude conditions.

The race will take place in the Central Valley. In 2010, the race will finish on the final day at a natural hot springs resort on the slopes of the Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica's most active volcano.

A mixed pairs category is new for 2010. It is added to the established male, female, master A (30-39), master B (40-49), and veteran categories.

2010 El Reto de Los Volcanes
April 9: Stage 1 - Turrialba and Irazú Volcanoes
April 10: Stage 2 - Barva Volcano
April 11: Stage 3 - Poás and Arenal Volcanoes

For more information, visit www.retodelosvolcanes.com.