The Manada Coyote boys are eager to establish themselves as a dominant force in their home race. I'm fairly confident everybody riding will be in their colours next year, with several riders merely loaned out to finalise their development. Nonetheless, Kevin GRANADOS, Sergio ARIAS VILLANUEVA and Gabriel MARIN very quickly establish a not insubstantial lead over the peloton.
Having first tried to corral the amateurs into chasing down the attackers, Jason HUERTAS and John JIMENEZ RETANA eventually opt to bridge across themselves. They succeed in doing so not long prior to the penultimate cobbled sector. Their arrival signals the departure of GRANADOS, who isn't capable of sticking with the current pace.
The cobblestones take their toll, and it is only MARIN and JIMENEZ RETANA who are in contention going into the final sector. Oh, I spoke too soon. JIMENEZ RETANA has done too much work. And then there was one.
Even if things had come down to a sprint he probably would have been the favourite, but why take the risky route when your ability as a rouleur is more than sufficient? Gabriel MARIN is the Costa Rican champion.
Costa Rican National Championships '23 Individual Time Trial
Sergio ARIAS VILLANUEVA is a rouleur through and through. He isn't quite strong enough to challenge for victory in the professional ITTs and his team isn't known for their TTT squad, so the national championships is probably his best chance at glory. His time of 1h01'03" put him into the hotseat.
Jason HUERTAS is a slightly more well-rounded rider. As well as being a capable rouleur he is also not half-bad when it comes down to a sprint. Bumps in the road also provide him less trouble than they do his countryman. Both managed to pass John JIMENEZ RETANA on the road. Both were inseparable at the intermediate chronos. It was a very close run race, but in the end HUERTAS secured the win by mere seconds.
Costa Rican National Championships '23 
