Early morning showers and wet roads didn’t stop 24 cyclists from showing up for the 5th Annual Donald’s Challenge Road Race on St. Croix’s Southside Road. The Virgin Islands Cycling Federation held the event in memory of Elite cyclist, Donald Christian, who passed away suddenly in 2016. Vicky Joseph, Christian’s wife, came to the race to greet the cyclists and to present medals to the top finishers.
All competitors completed the same seven-mile course, but the number of laps varied according to each racing category. Starting at the entrance gates to Ha’ penny Beach, the route went west to Cane Garden, turned around, headed east to Castle Nugent and then back to the start.
The Elite category stuck together for the first three laps, averaging about 20 minutes/lap. Stephen Swanton made a jump on lap 4, which put him about 25 seconds ahead. He held off the rest of the field for the full six laps (42 miles) and crossed line in first place in 2:03:09. Alex Betancourt was second in 2:03:16 and Ian Collins was third in 2:03:18.
The largest group of the race, the Expert category, was not quite as cohesive as the Elite group. Juancito Gario made an early move to push the pace and caught and passed the Elite group, which started one minute ahead of the Expert riders. Juancito rejoined his training buddies on lap 2, who were behind the new leaders, John Harper, Narian Gentius and Miguel Cruz. Harper and Gentius worked together on laps 3 and 4 and finished the 28-mile race with the same finish time of 1:27:06 in first place and second place, respectively, over a minute ahead of third place finisher Juancito Gario.
Mango Tree Rider Luke Defour lead the Sport category right from the start of the 14-mile race. He finished the two laps in 47:29, while teammate, Mario Butcher finished in second place in 47:42. Ted Prosper, also a Mango Tree Rider, was third in 47:52.
Laverne Fredericksen dominated the Women’s field in their 14-miile race. She set a swift pace for the first lap, which set her well ahead the other women. Fredericksen finished the two laps in 49:31. Cycling friends, Lisa Gay, Jan Powell and Renee Sweany, were excited to ride together as they all crossed the line at the same time for a three-way second place finish.
Fifth grader, Xander Morales, accompanied by his dad on a bike for the race, completed one lap of the course in 30:26. The VICF has high hopes of recruiting more junior cyclists for the next cycling season.
The next race on the VICF calendar is at 7 a.m., Sunday, Aug. 1. The start will be at the entrance to Cramer’s Park and will have an exciting hilltop finish at Point Udall. For more information, call 643-6420.
