From the very start of GFNY Panama at the Buenaventura Golf & Beach Resort on the Pacific Coast of Panama, Luis Enrique Lemus (GFNY GRUPPO) battled with Pascual Carlos (TRISTORE) all the way to the finish line 170km away.
Early in the gran fondo race the pair broke away from the pack and opened a 3 minute lead as they rode through dense tropical rain forest, at 50km to go the lead was nearly 6 minutes. With their lead increasing every passing kilometer, it was clear the victory would go to one of them.
Back at the Buenaventura Golf & Beach Resort finish, it was former Professional and Olympic cyclists Luis Enrique Lemus who had enough left to out sprint Carlos by 4 seconds and earn the title GFNY Panama Champion with a time of 5:03:33.
Racing for the final podium step, Moreno Mauricio and Eduardo Garita battled all the way to the finish line too, with Mauricio beating Garita by a wheel.
Wearing bib #1, elite Venezuelan MTB rider Marcia Barrios (Team Kyoto) won the women’s race for the second year in a row. She finished in 5:36:50, followed by Ana Victoria Gonzalez and Cecilia Abe.
162 riders finished the 170km Gran Fondo, with another 210 enjoying a non-competitive 90km ride. In 2018 over 800 riders participated.
GFNY Gran Fondo riders finishing in the top 10% of their age category qualify to start up front at the 2020 GFNY World Championships in New York next May.
GFDN Worldwide Gran Fondo Calendar
GRAN FONDO DAILY NEWS 