In spite of Hurricane Paloma which threatened to derail months of planning, the inaugural Cayman Invitational Cycle Race managed to be a big hit with locals and visiting professional cyclists alike.
Although weather conditions forced the cancellation of all the events scheduled for Saturday, a 10-mile prologue time trial and a 45 minute downtown criterium, the weather cleared up sufficiently by Sunday to allow the circuit race to take place as planned.
The event, backed by the Sports Ministry and sponsored by Butterfield Bank, Walkers, RE/MAX and Piedra Wines brought some of cycling’s top names to the Cayman Islands.
The group included Christian Vandevelde of the Garmin-Chipotle team, who wore the leader’s jersey in the 2008 Giro d’Italia as well as claiming a fourth place in the Tour de France.
He was joined by former US Pro champion Chris Wherry of the Toyota-United team and Peter Luttenberger, who claimed a top five finish in the 1996 Tour de France.
The VMG-Felt Under-23 development team also sent a contingent of three cyclists, comprising US U-23 time trial champion Peter Stetina, Peter Salon, and Walker Savidge.
A large peloton took to the circuit including many local recreational cyclists.
Yet it soon become clear that not all the contestants would be able to stand up to the gradually increasing pace, as cyclist after cyclist pulled off, deciding that they would rather watch the professionals at work.
As the race progressed a number of cyclists launched small moves off the front, with Walker Savidge, Peter Luttenberger and Chris Wherry pulling clear on the very first lap.
By the second lap they had been joined by local cyclist Steve Abbott, who had slipped back to the bunch by the fourth lap to be replaced by another local, Michael Stomps.
However, the bunch were having none of it, and a concerted pull brought the race back together by the sixth lap.
Then it was the turn of the local riders as Steve Evans, Ricco Montemayor, Chris Sutton and Dennis Brooks tried to make it off the front.
The speed of the breakaway attempt meant that a couple of riders went wide on the corner and only managed to stay upright through exceptional bike handling.
However, this took the wind out of the sails of the break as they were once again brought back into the fold by the chasing peloton.
By the next lap a reshuffle had taken place, with Peter Stetina and Dennis Brooks in the lead, followed by Wherry and Chris Sutton. Yet once again the peloton was not happy with the composition of the break and they were reeled back in.
Next it was Luttenberger’s turn to head off the front of the peleton as he put in a mammoth solo effort.
The bunch soon realised that this could be a dangerous, but wanting to avoid a flurry of counterattacks the peloton allowed Luttenberger to dangle off the front just within striking distance as they neared the final lap of the race.
The catch happened around the back of the circuit, with Vandevelde and Wherry making a break for it, and coming around the final corner well clear of the chasing peloton.
Vandevelde managed to get the better line out of the corner and held his narrow lead all the way to the line as Wherry was forced into second place.
A much reduced chasing group came charging around the corner soon after, containing Luttenberger, Peter Salon and Walker Savidge of VMG Felt, as well as two local riders in Vincent Jones and Brooks.
In a hotly contested sprint for third place it was 1992 Olympian Brooks who sprung the surprise, unleashing a vicious sprint to take third and fly the flag for the local contingent.
Winner Vandevelde was very complimentary about the race.
‘It’s been an awesome experience for us,’ he said, adding that he had not expected the level of competition offered by the local riders.
Wherry was much more to the point when asked about his experience.
‘Christian and I probably haven’t hurt ourselves in November this bad in a while,’ he laughed.
‘It was awesome – it was super fun to come and ride with these guys and the island is absolutely gorgeous.’
Luttenberger, who retired as a professional almost two years ago, admitted to only returning to training some two months ago after almost 18 months off the bike.
‘For such a long time I had to train every day sun, rain, snow, whatever, you always had to go out to train, and since I’m retired I just do things for fun and for pleasure – I’m already looking forward to next year!’
Race organiser Steve Evans could not say enough about the generosity of the sponsors.
‘We are so fortunate to have supporters like the Sports Ministry and sponsors like Butterfield Bank, Walkers, Re/Max and Piedra Wines who have helped to make this dream a reality,’ he said.
President of the Cayman Islands Cycling Association Gary Clarke had his own tale to tell after the race.
‘I was suffering and slipping off the back of the group when I saw this hand extended to me. So I reached out and grabbed hold. When I looked up it was Christian Vandevelde, the legend, and before I knew what has happening he had given me a push all the way to the front of the peloton. Wow!’
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