IT MAY BE A NEW YEAR in cycling but nothing much has changed for Russell Elcock.
The man who rode unbeaten on the road last year has started 2015 in similar vein, having opened the new Barbados Cycling Union season with a comfortable wire-to-wire victory in the Don Stoute Memorial Race on the Sterling course.
It was the ninth straight win in as many road races, not including Nationals, for Elcock, who whipped another weakened depleted field by attacking from the opening lap to ride home unchallenged.
Such was Elcock’s dominance that the unattached cyclist lapped all but two riders, including those of the other divisions.
“The top riders aren’t here but I tried to make the most of it, so I just attacked from the start and they didn’t see me again until the finish,” reasoned Elcock.
“Just because there isn’t major competition here doesn’t mean I must go and slouch, so I basically rode to time and tried to keep the race as fast as possible because it does me no good to drop my standard.”
First-year senior Edwin Sutherland finished second under the A-Class Batteries Golden Wheelers banner, while American visitor Glen Snyder finished third ahead of Fugen’s Darwin Griffith.
In the juveniles, Heat Wave’s Jacob Kelly beat his lesser rated teammates Dominica Howard and Dillon Gray to take top honours in that division, while Ronald “Yank” Howard of Fugen won the Masters over-50 equivalent.
Unattached Sedwin Jones was second while Reginald Jones of A-Class Batteries Golden Wheelers finished third.
In Trinidad, former national road race king Philip Clarke continued his fine showing down south when he beat Joshua Alexander in a sprint to the finish to win the second road league of the year.
