In an exciting finish to the GT Criterium, or crit as it is known, Michele “Mitch” Smith reigned triumphant, just eking out the win on the line from Steve Abbott, both fresh from their exploits in the Tour of Dominican Republic where Abbott was able to complete the hilly parcours.
Smith, one of Cayman’s most distinguished and experienced crit rider and Abbott, Cayman’s top time trial rider in recent years, proved too strong for the rest and lapped the field early on the 0.6-kilometre course, which was closed to traffic around central George Town.
The course was from the library onto Fort Street, Harbour Drive, Shedden Road and Edward Street, which was raced for one hour plus three laps, taking all three primes on offer in that order with Jerome Begot taking the last point on offer for the first prime and Jerome Ameline mopping up the other two third place primes.
Abbott, who has never beaten Smith in a sprint finish, will have a chance to turn the tables in the next event, which is a 10-mile individual time trial.
There were also notable performances from the top-10 riders, which included race organiser Barry Jones (53//11 Crankers) who, is racing for the first time in 20 months after only being on the bike for seven weeks, showed signs of his intentions to get back to the business end of the sport by going with the early break.
He could not sustain the early efforts, however, as lactic acid build up made his legs feel sluggish. Illness and lack of sleep took its toll yet Jones still managed a respectable 10th place.
Visiting UK master cyclist Les Liddiard, who will be competing at the Master Track Championship in Manchester later this year, and who has been putting in the miles while in Grand Cayman, finished a fine fifth, winning the masters category just ahead of Jerome Begot and Laurent Weber, who finished sixth and eighth, respectively.
With the winner of the masters division in the Lover’s Wall 5 mile TT, Chris Sutton, not competing, that meant things are tight at the top of the standings after two events.
In the junior category, Josh Weaver, 11, not deterred by the challenge of his first crit and in the accompaniment of his dad, Chris, managed to bag some well earned second place points behind the victorious Derron Kelly.
The order was a replica of the Lover’s Wall 5 mile individual TT, which also means that there was no change in the super series standings.
The ladies decided to take a day off, so their overall standings in the super series title remain unchanged.
Nearly all the riders navigated the course with ease except for David Cooke and Brian Chin Yee who could not seem to get to grips with the Harbour Drive-Shedden Road corner.
Cooke became the day’s one casualty while negotiating the bend, taking a spill but ending up no worse for wear for his misadventure.
Yee, unsettled by the many passes of the corner, seemed ill at ease and eventually retired from the race, which was surprising for a rider of his experience. All other riders finished the course, albeit varying laps down on the winner.
The riders, including criterium virgins Gavin McDougall and Brent Cunha, expressed a liking for this historical circuit, which took a few riders back to the 70s and 80s when GT crits were the norm.
Jones, the race’s organiser, said: “I used to race this course as a junior and I have always encouraged other to usher them back in without much success so I decided to apply that old saying of ‘if you want something done sometimes you just have to do it yourself.’ And the feedback thus far has all been positive.”
On a day of exciting racing, race commissure, former top cyclist and current president of the cycling association, Craig Merren, made sure that all riders and spectators enjoyed the event with his colourful and often comedic encouragement of the riders. No one was immune to some of his jabs and even Jones felt the sting of Merren’s ribbing.
In the BMX shoot out, 4-year-old Amaury Jones took the win in the one lap shorter BMX course ahead of his little sister, 3-year-old Emilie Jones, who won the girls’ division despite obviously being slowed by her training wheels. She, however, had no problem with the corners.
Dre McField, 9, took the two lapper from 8-year-old Hugh-Anthony Jones. Both now lead their respective divisions.
In the open four lapper it was, new committee member, Luis Hernandez taking a commanding win from Ernie Jacques, Al Bodden, Dylan Merren and Divonte Hernandez.
Craig Merren said that this is where the future of cycling is, expressing his desire to see Cayman represented at the 2020 Olympic Games. “The new committee has several projects that it is exploring two of which include the construction of a BMX track and a velodrome,” Merren said.
Special note must be given to Jerome Ameline, who switched to a pocket rocket of a bike to have fun with the BMX pushing them very hard even after competing well in the crit.
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