Michele Smith may be 44 years old but he is not ready to be beaten by the next generation of local cyclists, as demonstrated in the 48 Mile Road Race on Sunday.
It started at Hurley’s roundabout at 7 a.m. and it went all the way to East End, around the Queen’s Highway to Frank Sound and back, finishing at Lantern Point.
Smith finished in 1 hour, 40 minutes, 1 second, with plenty to spare. Second was Pedro Lopez Ramos, 13 seconds behind, and third finisher was Perri Merren (1:42:01). Jerome Ameline and Chris Sutton (both 1:43:42) were next.
Ramos was one of a bunch of youngsters relatively new to the sport who are entering most races and improving all the time. They include Kevin Connolly and Marlon Crowe Jr.
Father and son pair Chris and Josh Weaver cycled together as usual and the women’s race was won by the sole female Risa Golberg in 1:44:15.
Sutton won the Masters (over 45) category. Chris Weaver was second, David Cooke third and Richard Pascal fourth.
The only rider not to finish was Denvil Clarke. An avid Chelsea supporter, Clarke was too excited after the previous day’s 6-0 thrashing of arch-rivals Arsenal to ride hard.
Although used to the cut and thrust of competitive racing, Smith said that he did not really have any tactic at the start. “I just went up front to get a high rhythm and when I looked back I had three riders on my wheel and they said we had a gap,” Smith said.
The lead group of Smith, Ramos, Merren and Dennis Brooks were riding at 24 miles per hour pace and knew that the chasing pack needed to work hard to overhaul them.
Brooks settled back with the peloton, leaving the lead three to maintain a fast pace two minutes ahead.
Three miles from the end, in Savannah, Ramos was feeling the pace and started get a leg cramp and Smith sportingly slowed down and waited on him.
Smith has lost count of how many races he’s won locally in a stellar career that has included two Olympic Games – 1988 in Seoul and 1992 in Barcelona – and numerous major tournaments. He also competed in the Pan Am Games twice and the 1986 and 1990 Commonwealth Games.
Smith took a 16-year break after the Barcelona Games to concentrate on work and he now has a successful construction company before returning to competitive cycling in 2008.
“I wasn’t getting any financial support in cycling and I had to look out for my retirement age. I had to get a few eggs in the basket,” said Smith.
Cycling’s demands on the body are severe but Smith still enjoys the rigors. “Sometimes I feel like 16 but other times I feel like 60 too!”
Ramos was one of a bunch of youngsters relatively new to the sport who are entering most races and improving all the time.
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