Cycling

Havana, Nov 12 (JIT) - Seven Cuban cyclists will be present in the Tour of Chiriqui, in Panama, which will be held from 21 to 28 of this month over 875.8 kilometers divided into eight stages.

The squad is led by Randol Izquierdo from Ciego de Ávila, Havana's Ricardo Cardoso, and José Alberto Domínguez, who are under 23 years of age and who form the luxury preselection, Pablo Arturo Campins, national commissioner, informed JIT.

They will be accompanied by four outstanding masters of the elite category. They are Jorge Rojas from Sancti Spiritus, Yariel de León and Joselín Piedra from Matanzas, and Adonis Cardoso from Havana, who together with Izquierdo -who had an outstanding performance- also raced the Tour of Panama last October.

Leading the team, which travels next Saturday to the Isthmus, will be coach Eduardo Alonso, vice-president of the Cuban federation, who treasures the condition of maximum winner of Vueltas a Cuba (six between 1984 and 1990), as well as other performances outside the island that place him as the most successful of local cycling.

Campins added that "we take advantage of the invitation for the important race in Panama, and in alliance with the masters, so that our young figures reach greater development with a view to the most significant events in the new Olympic cycle".

These three young cyclists took part in early November in the U-23 category of the Caribbean Road Championship held in Georgetown, capital of Guyana, where together with the results of the women's team, they secured their presence in the II Junior Pan American Games of Asuncion 2025.

Izquierdo stood out by winning the long-distance race in his age group and was second overall among the elite.

The Tour of Chiriqui starts next 21st with the longest stage (202 km). There will be other days in line, two in closed circuits, the same amount with high mountain characteristics and an individual time trial, on the penultimate date, of almost 20 kilometers.