Christopher Morales Fontán wins cycling gold

By THE STAR STAFF

Christopher Morales Fontán won Puerto Rico’s first gold medal in the men’s elite road race at the Caribbean Road Cycling Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Sunday.

With the victory, Morales Fontán also secured a spot for Puerto Rico at the Lima 2027 Pan American Games. According to the island Cycling Federation, Puerto Rico had not qualified in the event since the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games.

The new Caribbean champion completed the 127.6-kilometer course -- spanning 12 laps -- in a time of three hours, 11 minutes and 19 seconds, crossing the finish line with a lead of one minute and 28 seconds over his closest rivals.

“Christopher executed his plan from start to finish, racing intelligently and preventing his rivals for the podium from closing the gap, ultimately winning convincingly,” said Roberto Collazo, president of the Puerto Rico Cycling Federation. 

Collazo also noted that Puerto Rican cycling had not achieved a result of this magnitude since Efrén Ortega won gold in the individual time trial at a Caribbean Championship held in Puerto Rico.

The silver medal went to Briton John of Guyana, while Nicholas Narraway of Bermuda took the bronze. Both recorded times of 3:12:47.

The victory capped a two-medal weekend for Morales Fontán, who had won bronze in the men’s elite individual time trial on Saturday. On that same day, Puerto Rico’s Erialis Otero also won bronze in the women’s elite category