ROSE HALL, St James — Nineteen-year-old Dahlia Palmer won Jamaica’s second ever medal when she took the silver in the road race at the Caribbean Cycling Championships that ended in Rose Hall on Sunday.

Jamaica’s other medal came 10 years ago in the second staging of the event when Horace McFarlane won the road race in Aruba.

Iona Wynter Parks, a Jamaica Cycling Federation official, said that except a few hiccups, the events went well and helped to lift the standard of the sport here in Jamaica “a notch or two above what we are accustomed to”.

She said the negatives were not having a more sophisticated timing system and the crash at the end of the female race saw the winner Shalini Zabahneh of Belize plow into a marshal and had to be rushed to the hospital where she was treated for minor cuts and bruises and released.

Otherwise, she said the course and logistics and everything else was above par.

Wynter Parks had high praise for Palmer, who she said was a surprise, as more was expected from the Jamaican men who disappointed.

After just missing out on a medal in the time trials on Saturday when she was fourth, Palmer — the Lucea, Hanover resident who rides for the Cornwall Cycling team and is a four-time national champion — battled cramps near the end of the just over 43-mile course to take second behind Zabahneh as both riders had the same time of two minutes,three minutes and five seconds.

Zabahneh was winning her second medal of the weekend after placing third in Saturday’s time trials, while Barbadian Esther Miller-Rosemount was third out of the eight riders who finished the course.

Jamaica’s other entrant Ina Daley was seventh overall.

The Jamaican men were outclassed, as Oneil Samuels was the first local rider to cross the line in 26th position followed by Marloe Rodman, Jason Briscoe, Cleveland Sharpe, Greg Blackwood and Tinga Turner in that order. Danzie Stewart and Thailer Hill were 33rd and 34th, respectively, out of 43 riders who completed the 72-mile course.

Another 21 riders failed to complete the course that saw the riders do 10 circuits of the 7.2-mile course.

Martinique’s Cedric Eustache won the road race in two hours 48 minutes and five seconds to complete the sweep of the men’s title after his teammate Willy Rousseau had won the time trial the previous day.

Efren Ortega Rivera of Puerto took the silver after winning the bronze in the time trials, while St Martin’s Damien Maroni was third.