Rival teams brawl and race leader quits as the mayhem continues at the Tour of Costa Rica

Race leader Mainor Rojas quits after organisers do not punish anyone for an incident where his teammate was punched to the ground - a brawl then breaks out at the team hotel

Mainor Rojas

The previously unheralded Vuelta a Costa Rica hit the headlines last week after a taxi driver swerved into the front of the peloton, causing a mass pile up.

We didn't expect to be giving the race any more coverage until reports emerged of a brawl breaking out at the teams' hotel, leaving two riders hospitalised.

A report in Prensa Libra claims that race leader Mainor Rojas and his Reitt-Zumco-Mincho teammates withdrew from the event after Sunday's stage six after race organisers failed to punish anyone for an altercation in the peloton which led to one of their riders being hit and knocked to the ground.

Tempers then flared at the hotel, when riders and staff from the Reitt-Zumco-Mincho and Frijoles Los Tiernitocos-Arroz Halcon teams began to fight and even threw stones at each other, leaving Rónald Araya and Nieves Carrasco in hospital - the former requires surgery on broken ribs.

In the brawl, members of the Reitt team accused 'Los Frijolitos' of stealing some of their belongings - a claim that the team denies.

The Tour continues until Christmas Day, with the final stage taking place in La Aurora.

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Stuart Clarke is a News Associates trained journalist who has worked for the likes of the British Olympic Associate, British Rowing and the England and Wales Cricket Board, and of course Cycling Weekly. His work at Cycling Weekly has focused upon professional racing, following the World Tour races and its characters.