Chris Frederick of the Miami bicycling squad won the third stage of the Vuelta Ciclística Independencia Nacional, a major cycling event in the Caribbean. Dominican cyclist Wendy Cruz of the Alico-DR team who had won the first and second stage of the competitions came in 49th. Frederick posted a time of 2:58.20 for the 120 km trek from La Romana to Santo Domingo. Abraham Emile, representing the Association of Dominicans from NY was second, and Robert Lee, from Miami, was third. Today, the competitors will go north. The course will take them from Santo Domingo to Bonao (89 kms) in the morning and then from La Vega to the San Cerro and on to Jarabacoa (75 kms). The grueling competition is taking cyclists through most of the DR (1,145.4 kilometers) from 20-27 February. It is an officially sanctioned International Cycling Union race. For web site international coverage on this event, see www.cyclingnews.com or the International Cycling Union site at www.uci.ch International teams have come from St. Martin, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Curaçao, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Panama, Honduras and several US states (New York, Florida, Illinois and Texas). Fourteen DR-based teams are also participating, for more than 200 cyclists. The race schedule is as follows: Sunday, 20 February: 11 am. Closed circuit around Mirador del Sur Park (144 kms). Winner: Wendy Cruz (Dom) Monday, 21 February: 10 am. Santo Domingo-Boca Chica-San Pedro de Macorís-La Romana (116 kms). Point of departure: Ministry of the Armed Forces-Plaza de la Bandera. Winner: Wendy Cruz (Dom) Tuesday, 22 February: 9:30 am. La Romana-San Pedro de Macorís-Santo Domingo (120 kms). Point of departure: Parque Duarte in La Romana. Winner: Chris Frederick (Miami) Wednesday, 23 February: 9:30 am. Santo Domingo-Bonao (89 kms). 3 pm. La Vega-Santo Cerro-Jarabacoa (75 kms). Thursday, 24 February: 9:30 am. La Vega-Bonao-Piedra Blanca-Cotuí-Pimentel-San Francisco de Macorís (150 kms) Friday, 25 February: 9:30 am. Santiago-La Cumbre-Puerto Plata-Imbert-Navarrete-Mao (160 kms) Saturday, 26 February: 9:30 am. Closed circuit Monumento a los Héroes de la Restauración in Santiago (120 kms). Sunday, 27 February: 9:30 am. Santiago- Bonao-Villa Altagracia-Santo Domingo (158 kms.)
