The 43rd Vuelta Ciclística Independencia, one of the most important cycling races in the Caribbean and Central American region, began on Monday, 21 February with the first stage departing the Plaza de la Bandera area in the National District to Barahona, the southwestern province.
Jorge Blas, the president of the Dominican Cycling Federation, says 23 teams and 133 competitors are participating in the cycling classic, 12 from abroad. The competitors will cover 1,184 kilometers all throughout the country.
The foreign teams are Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Cuba, Best Buddies Racing, Voler Factory, Gesprom and Premier Racing from the United States, Carithos Bakery (Costa Rica); EDA (Nicaragua), Team Herrera (Colombia) and País de Futuro (Venezuela).
Local teams include: Santiago, Moca, San Cristóbal, La Romana, Inteja, Aero Cycling Team, Doglocy Team, Corratec La Vega y Fenix.
The competition stages are:
Monday, 22 February: Santo Domingo to Barahona (178 kms). The route takes cyclists west through San Cristóbal, Baní, Azua before reaching Barahona in the southwest.
Tuesday, 23 February: Barahona to Santo Domingo, east-going through Azua, Baní and San Cristobal (179 kms)
Wednesday, 24 February: Santo Domingo-San Pedro de Macorís-Santo Domingo-Columbus Lighthouse (187 kms). This route goes east along the Caribbean Sea.
Thursday, 25 February: Santo Domingo to Samaná via Los Haitises (178 kms). This is a difficult stretch through the mountains.
Friday, 26 February: Samaná-Puerto Plata passing through Nagua, Río San Juan, Gaspar Hernández, Sosúa, Puerto Plata (216 kms). This is a route along the north road that borders the Atlantic Ocean coast.
Saturday, 27 February: Puerto Plata-Santiago-La Vega-La Virgen-Constanza at 156 kilometers. This is the most difficult stretch as it crosses high mountainous areas.
The race ends on 27 February with a 90 km stretch with cumulative laps around the Mirador del Sur Park in the National District, the capital city of the Dominican Republic.
The competition is taking place when mask-wearing requirements have been removed in the Dominican Republic given the major decline in the spread of Covid-19.
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21 February 2022