Saint Lucia’s Denver Alphonse Jr bowed into action on Thursday, March 19, at the Continental Pan-Am Championships in Montería, Córdoba, Colombia, competing in the men’s Under-23 Individual Time Trial, a 36-kilometre ride on a flat course. He finished 14th out of 18 riders.
Alphonse was one of just two athletes from the English-speaking Caribbean, along with Jadian Neaves of Trinidad & Tobago, who was 13th. The Saint Lucian, one of the youngest riders in the group, was ahead of competitors from Nicaragua and Costa Rica. He ended in 51:48 – 9:46 behind the winner, Sebastián Ruiz of Mexico. The silver medal also went to Mexico, through José Juan Prieto. The bronze went to Colombian Jerónimo Calderón, who finished with a time of 43:10.
John Mangal, a coach and administrator who has been working with Alphonse, told St Lucia Times that this performance showed significant progress for the youngster from La Caye, Dennery, a graduate of Entrepot Secondary School.
“He rode at 42.2 kilometres per hour; his average speed is an improvement, but not near the top contenders. There is a lot of work to be done. He has the basics right, though,” said Mangal, noting that the time trial did not cater to Alphonse’s strengths.
“The time trial was on a flat course. Not his strength on the flats. They are working on him to gain more muscle mass and weight to improve his body-to-weight ratio. It will take some time to get it up, so it translates to more power and the ability to push more watts.”
On Saturday, Alphonse will compete in the 160km road race, where he will face 74 other riders.
(TF)
