The Costa Rica Vuelta – 10 days in Costa Rica over Christmas

I’ll admit that if you are a cycling fan like me, then October to January every year is a tough period! The classics and the grand tour action are over, and it’s a matter of searching schedules for your cycling fix. However, the annual tour of Costa Rica represents a nice little early Christmas present that you can squeeze into your schedule. Known as the Vuelta Costa Rica we are going to make a Vuelta Costa Rica prediction for you in this text. We will also tell you a little bit more about this 2.2 category race. It takes place in the beautiful Central American scenery of Costa Rica and is a visual joy to watch.

This tour (named Vuelta, the Spanish for tour) has been running since way back in 1965 and is part of the UCI America Tour. It has a rich history, and is well supported every year. It’s popularity has grown in the country as it’s often been won by local riders. Costa Ricans dominate the past winners’ lists, largely because they know the roads best and can use this advantage even against higher-profile International competitors. To emphasise this, Juan Carlos Rojas won the tour 6 times between 2005-2017 (though he is currently under suspension due to doping issues). Ranked as a 2.2 category event, it is the lowest level of pro cycling available but due to it sitting right at the end of the cycling season, it does generate a bit of interest for hardcore cycling fans.

Stages Preview

The terrain of Costa Rica lends itself well to a cycling tour of the region. It includes plenty of mountainous regions as well as plenty of flat coastline roads. The race organisers have designed an exciting route that should keep both crowds and purists happy and it include’s stages that give all the jersey hopefuls some target days when in the saddle.

After some gentle opening stages rolling out from the La Aurora in San Jose, it is the 4th stage when the real racing will begin. This is a heavy mountain climb in the form of a 17km individual time trial. Big gaps could open up here in the GC. This is followed by stage 5 and the ascent of the legendary Cerro de la Muerte, known for its high altitude and unpredictable weather. Stages 6 and 7 are rolling stages around the foothills and should favour breakaway groups and sprinters. Stage 8 is another brutal mountain one and the last chance for GC riders to make up time. Stages 9 and 10 are based in local towns with circular routes that will give the large  roadside crowds a chance to cheer on their heroes. The final stage will end in La Aurora, where the tour began 10 days before and will either see a lucky breakaway or a bunched sprint finish.

Who are the Vuelta Costa Rica riders to watch out for?

Let’s look over some of the main GC and jersey contenders for this year’s tour. We are going to profile some of these in more detail below.

Where to watch the Vuelta Costa Rica

Every stage of the Vuelta Costa Rica will be screened live in Costa Rica on local national TV via Telecable. However, for those (many) of you not based in Costa Rica you will need to find an online streaming service for the event. Megahdsports.com will provide coverage of the tour. Also, UCI Web TV are likely to stream some of the stages, especially the bigger ones in the race.

Prediction for the Vuelta Costa Rica

It’s a very tough race to predict in terms of GC (General Classification) victor. All three riders I’ve mentioned have a chance of placing well or winning a jersey. In these smaller tours someone can often jump from the pack with one good day of racing so they can be hard to predict. What I’ve decided for my Vuelta Costa Rica prediction is a team winner prediction. Movistar is a name that carries a lot of weight and history in cycling. They have sent a strong and experienced team to this tour, packed with enough climbing talent to be able to handle the 3 main stages that will decide the tour the 4th, 5th and 8th.