Mejia triumphs in Tres Ríos

Luis Mejia (7Capital/Economy) won stage 2 of La Ruta de Los Conquistadores on Thursday. The Colombian set a blistering pace from the start of the race's shortest stage, covering a supposed 63km from Santa Ana, San José to Tres Ríos, Cartago in 4:01:01. He spent most of it off the front solo.

Not being an immediate threat on general classification after finishing over 38 minutes off the pace on the opening day's stage, the overall contenders seemed content with letting Meijia go.

"I made an attack on the climb and got away from everyone else," said the winner. "I felt good and was always hydrating to keep my energy enough to get to the end. I hope to get more time in the next two days."

Overall race leader Todd Wells (Specialized), Federico Ramirez Mendez (Grupo Orosi Siglo XXI/Specialized) and Rom Akerson (Specialized) emerged as the top chasers of Mejia. Wells, however, lost contact with Ramirez and Akerson when he suffered a flat.

"I spent most of the day today with the guys who were third and fourth yesterday," said Wells. "We were together on the descent after the second big climb and then I punctured. I changed the flat, then changed the wheel at the next tech zone, but I'd lost a few minutes and couldn't get it back."

Eventually Akerson pulled away from Ramirez to claim second on the stage, while Ramirez finished third.

"Today, I wanted to protect my third place and watch the guy from Honduras (Milton Ramos)," said Akerson. "He was in second, but he got dropped, so I hung onto Todd. I have a lot of respect for Todd - I'm learning a lot to watch him ride. It helps me a lot to ride with someone at his level of racing."

"At the most critical part, Lico (Ramirez) attacked twice, and I didn't feel strong. At one point, I saw weakness in my competition, and I had a feeling I should go. I did and thank god I had a good race. I had my fingers crossed out there that my motor wouldn't break and those guys wouldn't catch me." They didn't and he earned second on the stage and moved up to second in the GC.

Complimenting the stage winner, the always classy Ramirez said, "The race was very hard. I'm tired after many races this year, and the Colombian (Meijia) is a good cyclist."

Following his flat, Wells rode to a fourth place finish followed by Cannondale Factory Racing teammates Ben Sonntag and Alex Grant in fifth and sixth respectively.

Despite losing time due to his mechanical, Wells remains in the overall lead after two stages. He has a 7:11 gap on Akerson, down from the more comfortable 10:34 on yesterday's runner-up Ramos, who is now third at 14:57.

Sonntag and Grant spent much of the day with Milton Ramos, who finished second yesterday. "I went into today with two options: go for a stage or help Alex," said defending champion Sonntag. "There were attacks right away and I realized I wasn't going to win a stage today, so I decided to stay with Alex. I think we worked well together to minimize his losses."

"Milton had some trouble on the steeper climbs. I felt better at the end of the stage and would have liked to gap him and keep going, but it didn't work out like that. It was a torn situation with Todd Wells just up ahead - we didn't want to close the gap on him, but we also wanted to help Alex because there were guys moving up on him on GC up ahead. But I think Alex was at his limit."

Ramos flatted on the final descent back into town and finished seventh at 14:21 behind Meijia.

Grant, who is now in sixth on the GC said, "We don't climb stuff that steep and had to ride it at our pace. Ben helped me out with some teamwork and hopefully my legs will keep coming around."

Women

In the women's race, it was a case of déjà vu as the top three women from the opening stage repeated their placings today.

Adriana Rojas once again rode to a solo win in 5:24:12. The Costa Rican finished in a torrential downpour, unlike the top men who enjoyed sunshine all day.

"I felt fine at the beginning, but I had some back pains near the end, which slowed me down," said Rojas. "This is a race that destroys you. I'm prone to backaches and have been having some trouble lately with it."

Behind her, Rebecca Rusch (Specialized/RedBull) and Louise Kobin (Global Biorythm Events) battled for second with Rusch outclimbing Kobin in the latter part of the stage.

"I didn't feel as good as yesterday for the first half and then I got my groove," said Rusch. "Louise and I rode together for about 30km. It was helpful. We kept each other honest. Then I started to warm up. I think the 29er was good on this course - I powered the flats and downs and was good on the climb."

It was a flat section where Rusch gapped Kobin. She crossed the line in second, 6:21 after Rojas.

"Today went better. It was hard, but I didn't bonk like I did yesterday," said Kobin after the finish.

The women's GC order remains unchanged although the gaps have grown some with today's stage. Rojas leads Rusch and Kobin.

Race notes

- It was this stage 2 last year in which this year's winner Meijia was disqualified due to accepting outside support. As the leader of stage 2 this year, he was accompanied by an official moto throughout - thereby preventing any reports of cheating in this 19th edition of La Ruta.

- Several riders noted the stage was longer than the 63km advertised. "Today they said it would be 63km, but my Garmin said 73km, so it's hard when you're looking for the finish 10km early," said Wells. Rusch reported that her odometer read 78km.

The following race video footage was provided by Cannondale's Matt Ohran.

Results

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Adriana Rojas (CRc)5:24:12
2Rebecca Rusch (USA) Specialized/RedBull0:06:21
3Louise Kobin (USA) Global Biorythm Events0:14:02
4Jane Rynbrandt (USA)0:38:04
5Ligia Madrigal Moya (CRc) BOSI/OTSwiss1:07:35
6Kathy Judson (USA)2:30:29
7Caterina Tellini (CRc)2:52:44
8Ileana Soto Alvarez (CRc)5:01:14
9Alsion Jones (Can)5:16:47
10Gabriela Morera Guerrero (CRc)5:32:13
11Linethe Rosely Gamboa Mendez (CRc)5:53:48
12Gemma Rossell Comabella (Spa)5:54:17
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Elite men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Luis Mejia (Col) 7Capital/Economy4:01:01
2Rom Akerson (CRc)0:03:25
3Federico Ramirez Mendez (CRc) Grupo Orosi Siglo XXI/Specialized0:07:27
4Todd Wells (USA) Specialized0:09:58
5Ben Sonntag (Ger) Cannondale Factory Racing0:10:28
6Alex Grant (USA) Cannondale Factory Racing0:10:29
7Milton Ramos (Hon) Specialized0:14:21
8Moises Hernandez Araya (CRc) Grupo Orosi Siglo XXI/Specialized0:23:24
9Gerry D Cody (USA) Herbalife240:44:02
10Alexander Sanchez Calderon (CRc) Specialized0:44:41
11Jose Guadalupe Cruz Salas (Mex)Row 10 - Cell 2
12Jonathan Camacho (CRc)0:45:25
13Manuel Prado (CRc) ShoAir/Specialized0:46:31
14Sharlys Silva De Oliveira (Bra)0:57:42
15Dennis Porras Murillo (CRc) Farmacia Paris/Rod Bike1:09:05
16Nate Whitman (USA) Herbalife241:12:03
17Hector Fernando Riveros Paez (Col) Constructora Arpo-PLC1:13:29
18Ruderick Marcel Juarez Sequeira (Nic)1:15:11
19Mario Alfredo Meneses Bonilla (CRc)1:15:49
20José Joaquin Rojas Acosta (CRc)1:27:05
21Jesus Hernandez Sanabria (Ven)1:28:36
22Ajay Pandit Chhetri (Nep) Kid Super1:40:09
23José Andres Rojas Meza (CRc) Grupo Orosi Siglo XXI1:41:30
24Anthony Fonseca Sanchez (CRc)1:45:53
25Melvin Alexander Mora Garita (CRc)1:50:27
26Kenneth Sanabria Sanabria (CRc)1:53:46
27Allan Gonzalez Brenes (CRc)1:56:52
28Daniel Garcia Matamoros (CRc)1:59:01
29Hendrick Rojas Arroyo (CRc)2:09:01
30Esteban Calleja Montealegre (CRc)2:41:57
31Jhonny Francisco Sanchez Chavarria (CRc)3:15:30
32Roger Gonzalez Salvador (Spa)4:14:11
33Mario Alberto Mata Aguillar (CRc)4:55:12
34Jose Guadalupe Cruz Salas (Mex)5:36:49
35Arturo Fernandez Vega (CRc)5:44:33
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Male 30-39
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Santos Corea Gutierrez (CRc)4:52:57
2Jeff D Herrera (CRc)0:05:47
3Dax Jaikel (CRc)0:07:35
4Eddy Perez Mata (CRc)Row 3 - Cell 2
5Luis Diego Chaverri Madden (CRc)0:22:26
6Travis Hauck (Can)0:23:55
7Jonathan Firth (Can) TransRockies/Honey Stinger/NORCO Grass Roots0:30:56
8Mario Alberto Araya Mena (CRc)0:49:34
9Juan Pablo Sanchez (CRc)0:52:01
10Victor Alonso Araya Pereira (CRc)0:53:57
11Michel Alfonso Larrain (Ven)1:04:56
12Max Araya Orozco (CRc)1:18:06
13Luis Fernando Mora Hidalgo (CRc)1:29:20
14Esteban Mendez (CRc)1:37:46
15Ivan Jimenez Camacho (CRc)1:37:48
16Maxwell Da Rocha (Bra) Desafío Brazil1:46:10
17Roy Rojas Garbanzo (CRc)1:53:44
18Luis Urain (CRc)1:58:26
19Erick Barboza (CRc)2:04:06
20Christian Gerardo Valerio Varela (CRc)2:08:29
21Eduardo Saenz Corrales (CRc)2:16:50
22Alejandro Lopez Quesada (CRc)2:23:35
23Rafael Bosco Ferreiro Melo (Bra)2:32:52
24Francisco Javier Matamoros Hdez. (CRc)2:40:42
25Mauricio Richmond Padilla (CRc)Row 24 - Cell 2
26Alejandro Diez (Mex)2:43:15
27Luis Mariano Viquez Vargas (CRc)2:51:41
28Alan Arguello Díaz (CRc)3:23:48
29Luis D. Peregrina C. (Mex)3:35:11
30Omar Esteban Roman Marin (CRc)3:58:57
31Cesar Nuñez Monge (CRc)4:36:25
32Giancarlo Loria Fonseca (CRc)4:50:24
33Gabriel Porras Chacon (CRc)4:50:28
34Josep Maria Sunyer Cabayol (Spa)6:23:38
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Male 40-49
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Leighton Poidevin (Can) Bicycle Café/Banff Lodging Co.4:58:46
2Fernando Salazar (CRc)0:25:35
3Renato Cisneros (Ecu)0:49:48
4Stefano Tomirotti (Ita)0:54:16
5Brian Vaughan (USA)1:18:51
6Carlos Calvo Ramazzini (CRc)1:22:10
7Federico Amador Leon (CRc)1:31:17
8Eric Warkentin (USA)1:34:53
9Mark Jeffery (GBr)1:52:59
10Mauricio Alvarado Rivera (CRc)2:12:13
11Alvaro Lang (CRc)2:17:45
12Darrell Jones (Can)2:47:17
13Carlos Cabezas Charpentier (CRc)2:50:31
14Will Muecke (USA)2:59:03
15Leonel Gomez Navarro (CRc)3:09:23
16Carlos Martinez Masis (CRc)3:19:22
17Esteban de la Garza (Mex)3:38:56
18Abraham Finkelman (Isr)3:43:37
19Andres E. Cordovez F. (Ecu)4:09:16
20Scott Olson (USA)4:11:34
21Ignacio Merino (Mex)4:39:05
22Geovanny Gomez Navarro (CRc)5:00:02
23Erick Richmond Padilla (CRc)5:08:59
24David Fernandez (Dom)5:21:54
25Eduardo Barth Ulate (CRc)5:40:18
26Hesiquio Merino (Mex)6:19:43
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Male 50+
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Tom Ebbern (Can)6:36:10
2Javier Gurdian Astúa (CRc)0:46:13
3David Kibler (CRc)1:26:23
4Francisco Sanchez Castillo (CRc)1:31:17
5Andres Clarke Holman (CRc)2:25:14
6Anthony Rick D'Amico (USA)3:08:03
7Heart Akerson (USA)4:07:17
8Roger Francisco Jimenez (CRc)4:35:27
Swipe to scroll horizontally
General classification women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Adriana Rojas (CRc)12:30:21
2Rebecca Rusch (USA) Specialized/RedBull0:16:53
3Louise Kobin (USA) Global Biorythm Events0:44:41
4Jane Rynbrandt (USA)1:51:26
5Ligia Madrigal Moya (CRc) BOSI/OTSwiss2:38:34
6Caterina Tellini (CRc)5:41:11
7Kathy Judson (USA)5:50:32
8Ileana Soto Alvarez (CRc)21:55:04
9Alsion Jones (Can)22:10:37
10Gabriela Morera Guerrero (CRc)22:26:03
11Linethe Rosely Gamboa Mendez (CRc)22:47:38
12Gemma Rossell Comabella (Spa)22:48:07
Swipe to scroll horizontally
General classification elite men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Todd Wells (USA) Specialized9:38:31
2Rom Akerson (CRc)0:07:11
3Milton Ramos (Hon) Specialized0:14:57
4Luis Mejia (Col) 7Capital/Economy0:28:08
5Federico Ramirez Mendez (CRc) Grupo Orosi Siglo XXI/Specialized0:31:02
6Alex Grant (USA) Cannondale Factory Racing0:34:03
7Moises Hernandez Araya (CRc) Grupo Orosi Siglo XXI/Specialized0:44:15
8Ben Sonntag (Ger) Cannondale Factory Racing0:58:04
9Gerry D Cody (USA) Herbalife241:19:51
10Alexander Sanchez Calderon (CRc) Specialized1:24:40
11Jonathan Camacho (CRc)1:42:32
12Manuel Prado (CRc) ShoAir/Specialized1:47:37
13Hector Fernando Riveros Paez (Col) Constructora Arpo-PLC2:04:53
14Dennis Porras Murillo (CRc) Farmacia Paris/Rod Bike2:13:40
15Sharlys Silva De Oliveira (Bra)2:30:38
16Nate Whitman (USA) Herbalife242:33:09
17Ruderick Marcel Juarez Sequeira (Nic)2:37:03
18José Joaquin Rojas Acosta (CRc)2:52:53
19Mario Alfredo Meneses Bonilla (CRc)3:11:31
20Melvin Alexander Mora Garita (CRc)3:33:35
21José Andres Rojas Meza (CRc) Grupo Orosi Siglo XXI3:49:52
22Jesus Hernandez Sanabria (Ven)3:51:35
23Ajay Pandit Chhetri (Nep) Kid Super4:08:04
24Hendrick Rojas Arroyo (CRc)4:15:38
25Daniel Garcia Matamoros (CRc)4:26:43
26Anthony Fonseca Sanchez (CRc)4:27:53
27Allan Gonzalez Brenes (CRc)4:34:22
28Kenneth Sanabria Sanabria (CRc)4:39:45
29Esteban Calleja Montealegre (CRc)5:22:47
30Jose Guadalupe Cruz Salas (Mex)5:30:24
31Jhonny Francisco Sanchez Chavarria (CRc)6:44:58
32Jose Guadalupe Cruz Salas (Mex)7:43:27
33Roger Gonzalez Salvador (Spa)8:58:38
34Mario Alberto Mata Aguillar (CRc)10:32:42
35Arturo Fernandez Vega (CRc)11:38:02
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Male 30-39
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Santos Corea Gutierrez (CRc)11:12:40
2Jeff D Herrera (CRc)0:24:40
3Travis Hauck (Can)0:41:41
4Dax Jaikel (CRc)1:18:19
5Eddy Perez Mata (CRc)Row 4 - Cell 2
6Juan Pablo Sanchez (CRc)1:24:12
7Luis Diego Chaverri Madden (CRc)1:26:53
8Jonathan Firth (Can) TransRockies/Honey Stinger/NORCO Grass Roots1:35:15
9Michel Alfonso Larrain (Ven)1:51:23
10Victor Alonso Araya Pereira (CRc)1:59:53
11Max Araya Orozco (CRc)2:45:30
12Mario Alberto Araya Mena (CRc)2:49:21
13Ivan Jimenez Camacho (CRc)3:08:42
14Luis Fernando Mora Hidalgo (CRc)3:17:38
15Esteban Mendez (CRc)3:42:07
16Maxwell Da Rocha (Bra) Desafío Brazil3:44:34
17Alejandro Diez (Mex)3:59:44
18Roy Rojas Garbanzo (CRc)4:03:07
19Erick Barboza (CRc)4:08:26
20Christian Gerardo Valerio Varela (CRc)4:45:19
21Eduardo Saenz Corrales (CRc)5:06:00
22Francisco Javier Matamoros Hdez. (CRc)5:16:13
23Alejandro Lopez Quesada (CRc)5:33:44
24Luis Urain (CRc)5:40:13
25Rafael Bosco Ferreiro Melo (Bra)5:45:05
26Luis Mariano Viquez Vargas (CRc)6:05:12
27Alan Arguello Díaz (CRc)7:12:44
28Mauricio Richmond Padilla (CRc)7:55:01
29Giancarlo Loria Fonseca (CRc)8:10:44
30Luis D. Peregrina C. (Mex)8:13:49
31Cesar Nuñez Monge (CRc)8:38:35
32Omar Esteban Roman Marin (CRc)9:04:46
33Gabriel Porras Chacon (CRc)9:23:26
34Josep Maria Sunyer Cabayol (Spa)24:03:54
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Male 40-49
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Leighton Poidevin (Can) Bicycle Café/Banff Lodging Co.11:18:30
2Fernando Salazar (CRc)2:02:03
3Renato Cisneros (Ecu)2:18:42
4Stefano Tomirotti (Ita)2:46:14
5Brian Vaughan (USA)3:40:35
6Eric Warkentin (USA)3:44:09
7Federico Amador Leon (CRc)3:59:04
8Mark Jeffery (GBr)4:02:03
9Mauricio Alvarado Rivera (CRc)4:11:23
10Alvaro Lang (CRc)4:37:38
11Carlos Calvo Ramazzini (CRc)5:05:16
12Leonel Gomez Navarro (CRc)5:14:48
13Carlos Cabezas Charpentier (CRc)6:02:30
14Will Muecke (USA)6:17:55
15Darrell Jones (Can)6:33:17
16Carlos Martinez Masis (CRc)7:15:37
17Abraham Finkelman (Isr)8:25:37
18Geovanny Gomez Navarro (CRc)8:42:09
19Ignacio Merino (Mex)8:42:31
20Andres E. Cordovez F. (Ecu)8:48:01
21David Fernandez (Dom)10:27:44
22Esteban de la Garza (Mex)21:19:11
23Scott Olson (USA)21:51:49
24Erick Richmond Padilla (CRc)22:49:14
25Eduardo Barth Ulate (CRc)23:20:33
26Hesiquio Merino (Mex)23:59:58
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Male 50+ general classification
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Tom Ebbern (Can)15:32:43
2Javier Gurdian Astúa (CRc)0:18:46
3Francisco Sanchez Castillo (CRc)2:21:31
4David Kibler (CRc)3:48:51
5Andres Clarke Holman (CRc)4:26:07
6Heart Akerson (USA)6:42:14
7Anthony Rick D'Amico (USA)18:11:29
8Roger Francisco Jimenez (CRc)19:38:53

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Sue George is an editor at Cyclingnews.  She coordinates all of the site's mountain bike race coverage and assists with the road, 'cross and track coverage.

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