Colombian Perez wins ninth stage in Costa Rica's Cycling tour

 SAN JOSE, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Colombian cyclist Marlon Perez Wednesday won the ninth stage of Costa Rica's International Cycling Tour, while his compatriot Oscar Sanchez held the general leadership.

The Wednesday stage was a 143.9-kilometer travel between the coastal¹ locality of Jaco (in Costa Rica's central Pacific region) and Perez Zeledon (at 80 kilometers southeast of San Jose).

Perez was part of a 7-cyclist squad² that went ahead and led the race even 10 minutes from the main group.

The winner Perez arrived to the final line with a time of 3 hours, 59 minutes and 18 seconds.

The tour's general leader, Colombian Sanchez (GW-Shimano team) resisted the attacks of his nearest followers³, Costa Ricans Roman Villalobos and Juan Carlos Rojas (JPS-Giant team), to remain in the top.

Sanchez's total time so far is 23 hours, 56 minutes and 12 seconds. Villalobos is in the second position one minute and one second behind, while Rojas is in the third position one minute and 47 seconds behind the leader.

The tenth stage will be staged Thursday in a 121.4-kilometer circuit in Osa canton (170 kilometers southeast of San Jose), where the maximum height is of 60 meters over the sea level.

Costa Rica's International Cycling Tour is held from Dec. 17 to 29, with a total of 12 stages and the participation⁴ of teams from Colombia, Chile, Guatemala, Cuba and Costa Rica.

1 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

2 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

3 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

4 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。