Britton third in Vuelta Independencia Nacional opener

Canada’s Rob Britton secured third place on the podium at the opening stage of the UCI 2.2 Vuelta Independencia Nacional in the Dominican Republic on Thursday. His teammate Eric Marcotte won the 141-km stage, making it a successful race for Team SmartStop.

The flat, out-and-back race started and finished in Santo Domingo. A seven-man breakaway formed that included both Britton and Marcotte. It gained seven minutes ahead of the main field.

Britton made a move with 2 km to go but was followed by Colombia’s Gediminas Kaupas. Marcotte jumped out of the field, caught and passed the duo, and crossed the line first.

“I was very happy to have Rob with me, there was four Colombians, one Latvian, one Canadian and one American, as the pace stayed hard and steady we lost a rider,” said Marcotte. “The pace stayed high and I began to think of the scenarios that would not be good for Rob or I to have a good shot at winning. As we hit the 5 km to go mark all together, I began to realize that we would have a good shot at winning.

“I let loose around the outside knowing that if I could get the headwind I could get the win.”

The main field crossed the line 6:29 minutes behind the leaders.

Other members of the team competing in the weeklong race include national road champion Zach Bell, Travis McCabe, Flavio de Luna and Jure Kocjan.

Bell and Briton are new to Team SmartStop. Last year, Bell competed with Champion System and Britton raced with H&R Block, and has previous experience racing with Bissell Pro Cycling and Team Raleigh.

The race concludes on Feb. 27 in Quinto Centenario.