(CMR) Cayman Cycling athletes Victor Magalhaes (U23) and Kevin Connolly (Elite Men) took on the best of the Caribbean in the Individual Time Trial at the 2022 Caribbean Cycling Championships in the Dominican Republic over the weekend.
Despite not medaling, both athletes were among the top athletes at the competition. On Saturday, both riders blazed the course-in blazing hot conditions- flying through three laps of a flat winding 10k loop.
Taking off in the first wave, Victor gained valuable UCI ranking points by finishing 5th in the U23 category. In his first competition overseas, Kevin executed an amazing performance to finish 10th in the Elite Men's Division.
Sunday saw both athletes stake on the 130km Road race at the Championships. Despite the sweltering conditions, the Elite/U23 race pace was very high, with the first few laps averaging 28-30mph+.
With both cayman athletes comfortable in the leading group, Kevin’s day was cut short prematurely due to a crash on lap 4, with riders going down in front of him that he could do nothing to avoid and the resulting mechanical issues forcing him to retire. Surviving the early crash, Victor stayed engaged with the main peloton for most of the race but missed out on a late split, ultimately finishing solidly, a few minutes off the winners in 13th place.
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