On Friday, November 11, Louise "Swedish Express" Kobin (X-Fusion Shox) will begin her quest to win La Ruta de los Conquistadores for the third year in a row. While La Ruta has been dominated on the men's side by Costa Ricans, the Swedish-American Kobin has won the women's race two years running and is poised to do it again.
La Ruta covers 199 miles (320km), climbs over 29,530 feet (9,000m), and achieves a maximum elevation of over 10,000 feet (3,100m) in just three days. On top of all of this, the weather will certainly be a major factor this year. A prolonged wet season due to hurricanes has soaked the area and rain continues to fall. It is likely this will be the most difficult La Ruta to date.
