Two rounds inscripted as Costa Rica's first UCI cross country events
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Federico “Lico” Ramírez won round one of the Costa Rican National Cross Country series in late February(Image credit: Costa Rica National Mountain Bike Association (ANCM))
The course map and profile for round two of the Costa Rican Cross Country national series in Poás, Alajuela(Image credit: Costa Rica National Mountain Bike Association (ANCM))
Costa Rica's National Mountain Bike Association (ANCM) has unveiled the course for the second event of this year's Cross Country National Cup (AMPM) on March 27. Round two is a category two UCI inscripted race.
According to ANCM's Events Director and Vice President Francisco Chacón, the course venue for the upcoming event is located in the rural community of Santa Rosa de Poás, 40 kilometers northwest from the capital San José. The profile shows a typical cross country tack, with a total length of 4.6 kilometers per lap.
This circuit has been designed on the slopes of the Poás Volcano, at a height of 1,152 meters above sea level. A particular combination of sunny skies and cold winds are very common in the area at this time of the year.
While the elite men and women, under 23 men and junior men and women will be awarded with UCI points, master and other categories will be competing to earn points for the local series ranking.
The Costa Rican National XCO Cup opened last month with a race at the end of which local legend Federico "Lico" Ramírez crossed the line in the first place. He also won the Cup in 2010 for the eighth time in his 16-year career.
Lico is expected to be at the start in Poás, too. He will face rivals such as cross country national champion Paulo Vargas, former pro roadie and 1999 Pan-American cross country champion Adrián Bonilla, 2005 Pan-American cross country champion Deiber Esquivel and Manuel Prado.
"Our intention is to test ourselves. This is the first time we will have a National Cup event registered with the UCI," President of the National Mountain Bike Association Hernán Solano said.
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"The idea is to include the whole series next year. This is a very good chance for our racers to obtain UCI points in order to improve their possibilities of going to the London Olympics."
The country has a few other UCI inscripted events, but they are all all marathons (XCMs).
The 2011 Costa Rican Cross Country National Cup (AMPM) includes five events per the calendar below.
2011 Costa Rican Cross Country National Cup (AMPM) February 27: Pozos, Santa Ana March 27: Poás, Alajuela (UCI) May 15: Barva, Heredia June 12: Paraíso, Cartago (UCI) July 7: TEC, Cartago
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