[1] La Ruta de los Conquistadores consists of crossing Costa Rica from the Pacific to the Atlantic Coast over the course of three days.
Kevin Vermaerke, founder of the Cape Epic event in South Africa, took inspiration from La Ruta de los Conquistadores.
[2] La Ruta de los Conquistadores, also widely known simply as La Ruta, was born in an effort to call the attention of the media, both nationally (in Costa Rica) and internationally, to the importance of the conservation of the flora and fauna of the country.
[1] The actual race was started in 1993 by Román Urbina, a renowned athlete and adventurer, also nominee for the mountain bike hall of fame for his work with La Ruta.
[3] The race has a three-day point-to-point format, which means each racer must make it from start to finish in a certain amount of time.
There are four check points per day, and these also serve as aid stations, located every 25 kilometres (16 mi) through the race course.
In 2015, the route which took riders up and over Irazú and Turrialba volcanoes was diverted, with organizers citing too much volcanic activity as the reason.
[4] La Ruta de los Conquistadores is an individual point-to-point mountain bike multi-stage race.
The rest of the riders can receive aid from support teams, and even stop at small businesses and get refreshments or whatever they need.
[6] La Ruta's day one starts at 6:00 am and gives competitors until 5:30 pm (11.5 hours) to complete the 110 km route before being picked up by the rescue truck and disqualified from the overall results.
Riders must expect all kinds of riding conditions this day: mud, gravel, asphalt, and loose rocks.
The 79 kilometres (49 mi) feature a fearsome climb of about 6,000 feet, from Tres Ríos straight up the Irazú Volcano, with the high probability of bitterly cold weather much of the day.
There is a buffet for lunch that includes every food group so competitors can choose what exactly they need after a long day of racing.
Also, the organization of La Ruta de los Conquistadores requires riders to be covered by a personal insurance.
[peacock prose] La Ruta de los Conquistadores uses biodiesel in all of their trucks.
For the elite and women finishers, along with the winners of each category, there are varied prizes in cycling products such as rims, helmets, etc.
[citation needed] La Ruta de los Conquistadores works mainly with the Alcci (Asociación Lucha Contra el Cáncer Infantil, or "Association for the Fight against Children's Cancer" in English).
This coverage follows each stage of the race and usually gets the first page of the country's most important newspaper, La Nación.
Internationally, La Ruta de los Conquistadores has been featured in more than 150 magazines during its 21 years of existence.