Saint Lucia’s Denver Alphonse finished 30th overall in this week’s Junior Cycling Tour of Martinique.
The 17-year-old Entrepot Secondary School student-athlete competed against over 70 riders from 18 French clubs, securing 19th place in the individual time trial and 32nd in the four-stage road race. Maxence Detré of Racing Team Hexagone claimed the overall victory.
In the final stage of the road race, Alphonse crossed the line in 32nd place, 9 minutes and 42 seconds behind the winner. Over the entire 381.3-kilometre tour, he finished 43 minutes and 25 seconds behind Detré.
The Saint Lucian rider was 2 minutes and 53 seconds off the pace in the time trial, having placed 23rd in the opening stage. Detré sealed the overall win with a total time of 10:20:40, despite losing the final stage.
Alphonse’s ranking slipped on the second day when he finished 46th. The young cyclist made an aggressive early break but struggled to maintain momentum during the crucial hill climb, typically his strongest segment. Without teammates to support him, he regained some ground in the later stages but fell short of a top-25 finish, missing out on ranking points.
The 19th edition of the Junior Tour was organised by Robert JC231. Riders covered a challenging route, starting with Robert to Vert-Pré on the opening day, followed by Rivière-Pilote to Ajoupa Bouillon. The third stage spanned Marin to Carbet, while the fourth and final leg ran from Carbet to Fonds-Saint-Denis.
Most of the participating clubs hailed from Martinique, with representation from Guadeloupe, mainland France, St Martin, French Guiana and Saint Lucia.
