The first edition of Gran Fondo Costa Rica was held on Sunday 4 June with over 600 amateur cyclists competing to qualify for the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships taking place in Scotland in August.

The Gran Fondo World Series road event started in the capital city of San Jose and finished in Puntarenas 122 kilometers later with two MTB riders crowned overall champions.

31 year-old Diyer Rincón from Colombia was the overall male winner with a time of 2:56:50, and Costa Rican MTB national champion María Amalia Solís earned the women’s title in 3:32:17.

Milena Sanchez (3:32:24) and Carol Alpizar (3:32:25) took the remaining women’s podium steps, while Ricardo Rouillon (2:56:50) and Moises Hernandez (2:56:53) did the same in the men’s race.

Two participants previously banned for doping violations, Pascal Herve and Robert Nunez, also finished in the Top 10.

The 58 year-old French-Canadian Herve finished 7th overall (3:03:13). The former pro rider is best known for being kicked-out of the 1998 Tour de France for doping allegations and then testing positive for Erythropoiesis (EPO) at the 2001 Giro d’Italia.

Costa Rican Robert Nunez, 56, finished right behind in 8th place (3:05:03). Nunez won a bronze medal at the 2018 UCI Gran Fondo World Championship Time Trial, but was stripped of the result after testing positive for the banned drug Stanozolol.

Riders finishing in the top 25% of their age/gender category at Gran Fondo Costa Rica qualify to compete in the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships.

Photo Credit: Alonso Tenorio

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