About the only order in cycling these days is Darren Matthews’ dominance.
The sport’s top prospect continued to deliver on the talent that has promised so much, winning three events on Sunday as part of an unbeaten showing during the opening day of National Track Championships at the Randolph Field Velodrome.
Matthews’ performance was the highlight of yet another major cycling event marred by protest as the championships featured no riders from clubs Team Aspire and A-Class Batteries Golden Wheelers.
This comes just one month after 21 cyclists from those same clubs refused to move off the starting line of the national road race championship in an apparent show of force against the governing Barbados Cycling Union.
But the eventual road race champ was unfazed by those actions last month, and proved similarly unmoved at the lack of riders on Sunday after winning the keirin, kilo and scratch race in the seniors’ division.
So callous and clinical was the 20-year-old’s approach that he lapped the field with two “go-arounds” remaining in the 7 500-metre scratch race.
Talented junior Javed Mounter eventually placed second behind his G4S Swift rival, while veteran Greg Downie was third.
This was after Matthews had downed Kevin Bishop in an equally dominant showing in the keirin prior to taking the kilo as the event’s lone participant.
Mounter had a similarly successful outing in the junior category, having also won the keirin before returning to take the kilo as well.
The independent rider relegated Brandon Wilkie (G4S Swift) and Zavier Walcott-Alleyne to second and third respectively in both races in the absence of chief rival Jamol Eastmond (Team Aspire).
In the masters, Sedwin Jones (AMOND Fugen) also completed a sweep of the keirin and kilo, beating independent rider Ricardo Hinckson into second for both events. Jones’ teammate Vere Wiggins was third in the keirin while Gregory Catwell copped bronze in the kilo.
Kristin Vanderpool (Fugen) again got the better of younger brother Gregory (Fugen) in the 500-metre time trial for juveniles, with Liam Lovell (G4S) placing third.
Independent cyclist Deidre Mayers took the women’s equivalent over the G4S pair of Esther Miller-Rosemond and Charane Catwell, while Ajani Miller (Fugen) upended Tremaine Forde-Catwell (G4S) in that same event for tiny mites.
The championships were slated to continue last night with the individual pursuit and conclude tonight with the sprints.
