International?cycling could be returning to the island this year as the Barbados Cycling Union (BCU) celebrates its 50th anniversary with the staging of the Sun Group Inc. Barbados Sportive 2013 on October 6.
The event, which will be done in conjunction with the Barbados Tourism Authority and Kreeda Caribbean Sports and Tours, will take the form of a cycling challenge.
It is targeting between 700 and 1 000 cyclists from across Europe and as far as Australia.
BCU’s public relations officer Wayne Robinson stressed it was “a challenge” and not a competition.
Riders who sign up can tackle one of two routes – the gold route which is 76 miles or the silver route, about 45 miles.
“The gold route will cover most of the island and a lot of the hilly areas on the East coast. The silver route will have its challenges as well, but not to the same extent. It is for people who can’t handle the gold route and it would be more for recreational riders or former racers.
“Seventy-six miles is nothing to sneeze at,” Robinson told WEEKEND?SPORT.
The last cycling international staged here was the short-lived Ride Barbados back in 2005. Also done in conjunction with the BTA, it featured then sports tourism ambassador and former world championships silver medallist Barry Forde as the headliner.
Forde, who was coming off a sixth-place finish at the Athens Olympic Games the previous year, brought some of his training partners and other riders from Germany, Italy, France and the region to compete in the event.
The BCU will also be staging events leading up to and after the challenge, including a road race, criterium and a track race at the National Stadium.
Robinson said they had planned to do more activities to mark the golden anniversary but were hampered by a lack of funds.
