Cyclists Prepare for Jamaican Championships

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Monday, 05 September 2011 23:34

By caribarena news

The Antigua and Barbuda Cycling Association is preparing for the 11th Caribbean Cycling Championships in Montego Bay, Jamaica.  A five-member team will be attending, consisting of four male riders and a female.

Cuban-based OECS and National Cycling Champion Jyme Bridges will compete in the Road Race on September 18.

Bridges' performance at the championships will test his fate after earning a wildcard opportunity for the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. Robert Marsh, who placed 7th in the Caribbean last year and booked his spot for the Guadalajara Games, will be competing in the Individual Time Trial and Road Race, along with National Time Trial Champion Marvin Spencer also in both events with his main focus on the Time Trial.

Omari King, who is also training in Cuba, especially for the CCC, will join the group and participate in the Road Race. National Female Road and Time Trial Champion Tamiko Butler will represent Antigua & Barbuda in the female Road Race and Time Trial.

Butler rode in the event last year for the first time as a senior, and was pleased with her performance, although she lacked the experience and was too green to do elite racing. Since then, Butler set her mind on preparing for the 2011 event and showed marked improvement, to be a force to be reckoned with. She is presently on a one-month training sting in Holland, and will return home to join the team to travel to Jamaica.

The 2011 championships have another importance for Antigua & Barbuda. The CCF Congress is where the Antigua and Barbuda Cycling Association will be confirmed as hosts of the 2012 Caribbean Cycling Championships. Antigua & Barbuda became the favourite for hosting of next year’s event after its highly successful hosting of the 2011 OECS Cycling Championships in June. Antigua was nominated by 90 percent of the voters over the top contender, Curacao.

The Caribbean Cycling Congress will make the official decision on the 17. President Cliff Williams is expected do a presentation to the Congress on Antigua's ability to host the event.

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This year is also the AGM election of officers of the CCF, of which Williams is the treasurer. The 2011 Congress will take place at the Holiday Inn in Montego Bay on September 17.

Meanwhile, the Antigua and Barbuda Cycling Association will host a race on Sunday in preparation for the riders who will attend the Championships. The race is deemed as the hardest on the calendar, and will cover 48 miles - 22 miles less than Jamaica’s event. The popular Shirley heights Challenge will take place at 9 am on Sunday September 11, from in front of the playing field in Seaview Farm.

The course will take the riders up to Willikies, Freetown, Half Moon Bay, Bethesda, Cobbs Cross, up Shirley Heights, Falmouth, Liberta, and All Saints, finishing back at the Seaview Farm play field. Although the event is deemed a challenge for the riders, it will be the final preparation for Caribbean Cycling Championships selectees on island - Marsh, Spencer, and Butler.  

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