Santos’ Comeback Makes Him Head of The Pack

By Zoraida Diaz

Santos Corea Gutierrez is something of a local sports hero in Santa Cruz.

The 32-year-old mountain cyclist won the Master A Category (30-37) of the arduous, if scenic, Guanaride competition with a time of 14 hours 52 minutes and 35 seconds.

“The level is similar to the Elite,” he says. Indeed the overall winner of the competition, José Adrián Champulón Bonilla (BCR-Pizza Hut), bested him by less than half an hour in an endurance race that saw many bow out.

Corea is Santa Cruz-born, but grew into his cycling career in San José. He is no stranger to winning, being a National Champion runner-up in 2000, and placing fourth, fifth and sixth over the years in the grueling Ruta de los Conquistadores race, the triathlon of mountain cycling.

And in 2006, he ran the Vuelta a Costa Rica, the country´s Tour de France, placing third in the Rookie Category.

Disaster struck six years ago, when he was in a traffic accident, fracturing two of his vertebrae. He was told he would never ride again.

© Zoraida Diaz

But with perseverance, Corea recovered; and after three years took out his bike again.

“At first, my arms and feet would fall asleep,” he remembers. Corea is grateful for his victories, and humbly holds one dearest above all: “I rode in tandem with a girl who was legally blind in the Conquistadores one year. We came in 106 overall.”

And that race is Mr Corea´s next challenge. “The Conquistadores is hard,” he explains, “only mountains, rivers.”

“Over 100 kms per day, but I set myself three challenges this year, to win the 12-Horas (a race in Cartago that extends for 13 hours and crowns the cyclist who’s completed the circuit the most times); the Guanaride, and the Conquistadores.”

Corea won the 12-Horas completing a 7-km circuit 38 times — three circuits better than the second-place finisher.

And is now well on his way to attaining his goals — after starting back where it all began — in Santa Cruz.

Santos needs to raise $ 4000 to participate in the Conquistadores race. To help his cause please call 8810-5430