Colombian cyclist Marlon Perez Wednesday won the ninth stage of Costa Rica’s International Cycling Tour, while his compatriot Oscar Sanchez held the general leadership.
The Wednesday stage was a 143.9-kilometer travel between the coastal area of Jacó in Costa Rica’s central Pacific region and Perez Zeledon, at 80 kilometers southeast of San José.
Perez was part of a 7-cyclist squad that went ahead and led the race even 10 minutes from the main group.
The winner Perez arrived to the final line with a time of 3 hours, 59 minutes and 18 seconds.
The tour’s general leader, Colombian Sanchez (GW-Shimano team) resisted the attacks of his nearest followers, Costa Ricans Roman Villalobos and Juan Carlos Rojas (JPS-Giant team), to remain in the top.
Sanchez’s total time so far is 23 hours, 56 minutes and 12 seconds. Villalobos is in the second position one minute and one second behind, while Rojas is in the third position one minute and 47 seconds behind the leader.
The tenth stage will be staged Thursday in a 121.4-kilometer circuit in Osa canton (170 kilometers southeast of San Jose), where the maximum height is of 60 meters over the sea level.
Costa Rica’s International Cycling Tour is held from Dec. 17 to 29, with a total of 12 stages and the participation of teams from Colombia, Chile, Guatemala, Cuba and Costa Rica.