Costa Rica’s multi-stage Mountain Bike Competition La Ruta de los Conquistadores, will kick off this November 1st; every year, La Ruta changes the course and the finish lines, this 2018 it will start at Crocs Hotel in Jaco, Puntarenas and it will come to an end on November 3rd at Playa Bonita, Limon.

Considered one of the hardest athletic events in the world, La Ruta is celebrating this year its 26th edition and like every year it gathers hundreds of national and international athletes; in this edition the guest is American former professional cyclist Lance Armstrong, who will take advantage of his participation in the event to film a documentary from the hand of Valkyr Productions and photographer Ezra Shaw from Getty Images.

La Ruta as usual has three stages, stage one starts at 5:15 a.m. from the Crocs Hotel in Jaco, competitors will have to cover a total of 86 km (53 miles) to conclude the stage at Hacienda el Rodeo in Ciudad Colon, San Jose; stage two kicks off at 5 a.m. from the Terramall shopping center in Tres Rios, San Jose and will conclude at Catie in Turrialba, Cartago, a route of a total 80 km (50 miles); the third and final stage starts at 1 p.m. from the center of Siquirres in Limon and will conclude in Playa Bonita, Limon, for a total of 60 kilometers (37.3 miles)

Model and business woman from Mercedes Benz Fashion Week San Jose, will be one of the Costa Rican figures that will be taking on the challenge after more than two years of training and practicing MTB.

Created in 1993 by Costa Rican Roman Urbina, this event is considered the first and original multi-stage mountain bike competition in the world, it takes athletes from the Pacific to the Atlantic coast, across mountain ranges, microclimates, and in general very difficult and different riding surfaces: gravel, hard-packed dirt, pavement, thigh-deep mud, single track and fire road trails.