SEEMS CYCLING under the lights was a glowing success.
The organisers of Barbados’ first night of road racing, Friends of Cycling, are already planning an Independence edition after receiving rave reviews from last weekend’s novel event at The Villages at Coverley.
Member of Friends of Cycling, Colin Forde, disclosed some initial details of the November 29 event while revealing that last weekend’s multi-race spectacle attracted 75 riders and more than 400 spectators to the Christ Church venue.
“It actually went beyond our expectations, both for cycling fans and competitors, as it was just excellent racing,” said Forde.
“The course was extremely fast and it brought out a lot of skill in the riders so this brought out a lot of excitement on the night.
“This was really a big hit and any flaws in the lighting, we will be correcting that by having additional lighting at that particular point,” he added.
A range of riders, from the most seasoned to those who came out for fun, turned out to the showcase, which featured six races for multiple categories including tiny mites, juveniles, juniors and masters.
But the country’s elite cyclists were the ones stealing the show. Russell Elcock continued his fantastic record on the road by winning the featured 30-minute race and Ross Callender came second ahead of third-place finisher Jacob Kelly.
Edwin Sutherland, adjudged the Most Outstanding Rider on the night, won the junior equivalent by beating out Joshua Kelly.
Earlier, Callender registered an upset when he topped Barbados’ fastest cyclist Javed Mounter for the keirin crown. The fast-rising Liam Lovell placed third.
The 20-minute race for juveniles also featured a very competitive contest that saw Chayne Goodman edge out Tremaine Forde-Catwell and Jacob Kelly for top honours.
Sedwin Jones finished as the top master in that same event, while Oein Josiah won the triathlete division. Luke Staffner, who won the tiny mites race earlier, was awarded the Most Aggressive Rider title.
Night racing returns to Coverley on November 29, with action starting at 6 p.m. (JM)
