The nice thing about racing La Ruta each fall is it forces me out for some big fall rides. (Image credit: Alex Grant)
Portugal’s Luis Leao Pinto (Skotiabank) won the opening stage of La Ruta held on Thursday from Jaco to UTN Atenas in Costa Rica. He won the race ahead of Colombia’s Luis Mejía (Coopenae Movistar) and Spain’s Joseph Betalú (Constructora ARPO Specialized).
Leao Pinto and Mejia were together from the beginning to Carara National Park, where they both distanced themselves from Eddy Perez (7 Capital).
Attacks between two riders continued between San Pablo and San Pedro de Turrubares until Mejia fell off pace. At Escobal, Leao Pinto had built a lead of nine minutes.
"I put effort on the climbs but did not expect to have this advantage and I hope it stays. Mejia is a great rider. My legs hurt today but Costa Rica is a country where I feel great and I love it,” Leao Pinto said.
Despite the convincing victory, Leao Pinto said he has not won the race yet, "the race has just begun, it's mountain biking, it is unpredictable, you can be forward today and tomorrow many things that can happen to leave you out of the race, then every day we are trying recover well.”
Italian climber described time together as 'four precious years that have contributed so much to my personal growth and brought so many great emotions'
