Spotlight on the Caribbean - how pro cycling is growing in the region

An in-depth look at how the sport is developing, the region's leading lights and its growing racing scene

Continuing a new Global Peloton series exclusively for paid subscribers. Every month I'll be putting the spotlight on an emerging cycling nation, looking at the biggest stories, the history, riders coming through and exploring what the future might hold.

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The popularity of road cycling is on the rise quickly many of the 21* states that make up the Caribbean. 

A select few riders have progressed to the elite ranks of the sport in recent years, inspiring the next generation. However, challenges continue to exist that hold this region back from developing into one that can regularly produce top talent capable of making it.

Of course circumstances differ from nation to nation, but many similar challenges and opportunities ring true across much of the Caribbean and calls for greater cycling development collaboration in the region continue to grow louder.

Here’s a look at the region’s leading figures, the racing landscape and how the Caribbean can become a force in cycling in the years to come.

*This article refers to the 20 states associated with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) plus Cuba. CARICOM includes: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Jamaica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Monserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Eel, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands

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Caribbean Fact File (As of 14th November 2024)

• Best UCI Men’s Nations Ranking:

  • 60th, Bermuda

  • 68th, British Virgin Islands

  • 69th, Belize

• Best UCI Women’s Nations Ranking:

  • Cuba, 18th

  • Bermuda, 63rd

  • Dominican Republic, 71st

• Men’s UCI team registered riders: 1

• Women’s UCI team registered riders: 3

• Continental Teams: 0

• Top UCI ranked riders in 2024:

  • Women, Arlenis Sierra, Cuba (35th, 1074pts)

  • Men, Red Walters, Grenada (320th, 275pts).

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Leading figures

Very few riders from the Caribbean have made it to cycling’s top level over the years.

Bermudian Tyler Butterfield, a triathlete turned cyclist, raced for what was then called Team Slipstream (now EF Education First-EasyPost) in 2007. There aren’t many others on the men’s side of things who have made it onto a professional team on the road.

Probably the most decorated Caribbean cyclist of all time is Cuba’s Arlenis Sierra. The 31-year-old, who currently rides for Movistar in the Women’s WorldTour, has 55 wins from her career which began in 2016 with the UCI World Cycling Centre team. Sierra is a real class act. She targets the spring classics and is always a danger due to her rapid sprint. Sierra has inspired a swell of talented female riders from Cuba, including Marlies Mejias Garcia who is one of the top riders on the USA circuit.