As cycling pedals forward, Michele Smith will continue to be a top figure.
Smith, 44, competed for the Cayman Islands earlier this month at the XX Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. While the results there were not ideal, he says his next step is to compete against some of the region’s best riders.
“I’ve been home training. I’m not sure yet if we’re going to take part in the Caribbean championships,” Smith said. “That is still something that is to be decided by the board of the Cayman Islands Cycling Association. But that is Oct. 11-13 in Puerto Rico. I’m not sure what’s going to happen but I’m not going to go home and just hang the bike up. Obviously, I’m going to still train. I’m just not sure what’s going to take place.”
The Puerto Rican event, officially titled the Caribbean Cycling Federation Elite championships, takes place in about two months. The junior event is in Suriname on Oct. 4-5.
In Scotland, Smith placed 36th out of 60 riders in the 40 kilometer time trial with a mark of 58:49:64. He was well off the pace set by gold medalist Alex Dowsett of England (47:41.78), silver medalist Rohan Dennis of Australia (47:51.08) and bronze medalist Geraint Thomas of Wales (47:55.82).
His last event, the road race, ended in controversy as he decided to pull out within the first three laps of the 12-lap event, which spanned 172 kilometers through downtown Glasgow. Smith, who carried the Cayman flag during the opening ceremony for the Games, said he made the decision in large part because of unfavorable weather conditions.
Smith was far from the only rider to pull out, whether voluntarily or through injury or mechanical failures. Of the 140 riders who started, only 12 ended up crossing the line with the others receiving Did Not Finish results. Thomas of Wales took the gold medal in four hours, 13 minutes, and five seconds. Jack Bauer of New Zealand grabbed the silver and Scott Thwaites of England took the bronze in a photo finish as both riders had identical times of 4:14:26.
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