The Vuelta Ciclista a Costa Rica (English: Tour of Costa Rica) refers to multi-day bicycle racing

Road bicycle racing

Road bicycle racing is a bicycle racing sport held on roads, using racing bicycles. The term "road racing" is usually applied to events where competing riders start simultaneously with the winner being the first to the line at the end of the course .Historically, the most...

 stage races held annually in Costa Rica

Costa Rica

Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....

. The men's Vuelta carries a UCI rating of 2.2 and is part of the UCI America Tour, which is one of six UCI Continental Circuits

UCI Continental Circuits

The UCI Continental Circuits are road bicycle racing competitions contested under the auspices of the Union Cycliste Internationale . The five circuits are inferior to the UCI ProTour. Both the ProTour and the circuits comprise a series of races in which various cycling teams compete regularly...

 sponsored by the Union Cycliste Internationale

Union Cycliste Internationale

Union Cycliste Internationale is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland....

, the sport's international governing body. The women's race is ranked 2.2 by the UCI and has traditionally been run in October, although in 2009 it was held in May. The events are organized by the Federacion Costaricense de Ciclismo.

Men’s race past winners

Year	Winner	Country	Team
1965	José Luis “El Negro” Sánchez		Sanyo Costa Rica A
1966	Saturnino Rustrián		Guatemala
1967	José Manuel Soto		Costa Rica
1968	Saturnino Rustrián Saturnino Rustrián Saturnino jonatan hernandez romero Cáceres is a Guatemalan road racing cyclist who won the second and fourth editions of the annual Vuelta a Costa Rica in 1966 and 1968 and the 10th edition of the Vuelta a Guatemala in 1966....		Guatemala
1969	Evaristo Fino Fino		Colombia
1970	Arturo García		Cuarteta Windsor
1971	José Manuel Soto		Jabón Spreed
1972	Samuel de Jesús Herrera
1973	Wilfredo Insuasti		Colombia
1974	Rodolfo Vitela		México
1975	Efraín Pulido		Colombia
1976	Norberto Cáceres		Colombia
1977	Carlos Alvarado		Banco de Costa Rica
1978	Fernando Fontes		MARTELL
1979	German Loaiza		METALCO
1980	Dale Stetina
1981	Alexis Villalobos		METALCO
1982	Samuel Cabrera		Colombia
1983	Antonio “Tomate” Agudelo
1984	Oliverio Cárdenas		Casa Víctor
1985	Néstor Barrera		Colombia
1986	Juan de Dios Castillo
1987	Carlos Bermúdez		Alvarado Ases
1988	Efraím Rico Efraím Rico Efraím Rico Lizarazo is a retired male road cyclist from Colombia, who was a professional rider from 1990 to 1998...		Colombia
1989	Raúl Montero
1990	Alfredo Zamora		RCA – Electrodomésticos
1991	Edgar Sánchez
1992	Luis Espinoza		Manzana – Postobón Postóbon (cycling team) Postobón was a Colombian based professional road bicycle racing cycling team active from 1986 to 1996. The team was sponsored by the Colombian beverage manufacturers Postobón...
1993	Adrián Víquez		Jaisa – Phillips – El Globo A
1994	Andrés Brenes		Pizza Hut – Squirt A
1995	Raúl Gómez
1996	Luis Morera
1997	Gregorio Ladino Gregorio Ladino Gregorio Ladino Vega is a male road cyclist from Colombia, who became a professional rider in 1996.-Career:19951997...
1998	Hernán Darío Muñoz Hernán Darío Muñoz Hernán Darío Muñoz Giraldo is a retired male road cyclist from Colombia, who became a professional rider in 1996.-Career:1997...		Globo Casa Víctor
1999	Miguel Arroyo		México
2000	Federico Ramírez		Café de Costa Rica- Pizza Hut A
2001	Gregorio Ladino Gregorio Ladino Gregorio Ladino Vega is a male road cyclist from Colombia, who became a professional rider in 1996.-Career:19951997...		Café de Costa Rica
2002	Julio César Rangel Julio César Rangel Julio César Rangel Melo is a retired male road cyclist from Colombia.-Career:1996199719992002Julio César Rangel Melo is a retired male road cyclist from Colombia.-Career:1996...		2x1 Pizza Hut- Tienda el Globo – Jaisa A
2003	José A. Bonilla		Pizza Hut - Bancrédito
2004	Israel Ochoa Israel Ochoa Israel Antonio Ochoa Plazas is a retired male professional racing cyclist from Colombia, who was nicknamed El Rápido during his career.-Career:1993199419951996...		Ferretería el Mar – Video Visión
2005	Juan Carlos Rojas		Pasoca – Dos Pinos – Hotel Los Lagos
2006	Henry Raabe		BCR-Pizza Hut-KHS
2007	Henry Raabe		BCR-Pizza Hut-KHS
2008	Gregoy Brenes		BCR-Pizza Hut-KHS
2009	Janier Acevedo		GREATWALL-INDEPORTES
2010	Juan Carlos Rojas		Junta de Protección Social - Giant

Women’s race past winners

Year	Winner	Country	Team
2002	Karen Matamoros		Pizza Hut
2003	Karen Matamoros		Pizza Hut
2004	Viviana Maya		Team Matamoros
2005	Karen Matamoros		Team Matamoros
2006	Adriana Rojas		Battery
2007	Adriana Rojas		Battery
2008	Gloria Gutiérrez		Futuro Colombia
2009	Evelyn García Evelyn García Evelyn García Marroquín is a Salvadoran cycle racer who rides for the Fenixs team. She is something of an all-rounder, having won time-trials and mountain stages in the past. She has won the Vuelta a El Salvador on two occasions, the only woman yet to do so, in 2004 and 2007...		Fenixs

External links

• Official website of Federacion Costaricense de Ciclismo –Organisers of the Vuelta a Costa Rica