BELMOPAN, Mon. Mar. 5, 2018– The Cycling Federation of Belize (CFB) and the Belmopan City Council co-sponsored the 2018 Belmopan Cycling Classic yesterday. As the last major cycling race before the legendary Holy Saturday Cross Country, this race normally serves as a gauge of cyclists’ state of readiness for the Big One; and the results are noteworthy, both for the dominance of the DigiCell-4G Team, which had 5 of the top 10 finishers, and for the competitiveness of some Weekend Warrior veterans, particularly one Fitzgerald “Palas” Joseph, a.ka. the Black Rocket, a 50-year-old former Cross Country 3rd place finisher, who out-sprinted 11 others, including some Elites and U23s, at the finish, to place 3rd in this year’s Belmopan Classic.
Some 62 Elite, Under 23 and Masters cyclists participated in the 37th Annual Belmopan Cycling Classic, which travelled from Belmopan to Belize City and back to Belmopan, a total of 100 miles. 39 of them completed the race.
On the return journey to Belmopan, Joslyn Chavarria, Jr. won his only station prize, the last one at the Belmopan Airstrip; and it appears that he broke away from the main peloton soon after, as he crossed the finish line alone, some 6 seconds ahead of a chase group of 13 cyclists. That 13-man sprint to the finish line was then won by his teammate Giovanni Lovell, who took second place; and next was the veteran Fitzgerald “Palas” Joseph, who thus placed third, an amazing feat for a 50-year-old.
Finishing order up to the first peloton was: 1st Place – Joslyn Chavarria, Jr. (Digicell-4G Elite, 3:48:26); 2nd Giovanni Lovell (Digicell-4G Elite, 3:48:32); 3rd Fitzgerald “Palas” Joseph (Furnished Apt. Ltd., st); 4th Joel Adan Borland (Digicell-4G Elite, st); 5th Erwin Middleton (Digicell-4G Elite, st); 6th Kent “Bob” Gabourel (unattached, st); 7th David Henderson (Westrac Alliance, st); 8th Kaydine Pinelo (AKL/Powerade, st); 9th Kenroy “Smokes” Gladden (unattached, st); 10th Brandon Morgan (Digicell-4G Elite, st); 11th Quinton “The Baddest” Hamilton (unattached, st); 12th Keion Robateau (Westrac Alliance, st); 13th Robert Liam Stewart (unattached, st); and 14th Joshua Fuller (Smart,C-Ray/Western Spirit, st).
Other finishers after the main peloton included 15th Ernest Bradley (3:48:40), 16th Henry Moreira (3:48:43); 17th Shane Jones (3:48:48); 18th Oscar Quiros, Jr. (3:49:38); 19th Herman “Hijo” Requena (3:50:18); 20th Angel Tzib (st); 21st Giovanni Jose Choto (st); 22nd Richard Santiago (3:51:02); 23rd Jose Choto (3:51:37); 24th Phillip Leslie (3:52:34); 25th Edgar Nissan Arana (3:56:29); 26th Byron Pope (st); 27th David Yearwood (st); 28th Christopher Andrews (3:59:09); 29th Zahir Figueroa (4:01:08); 30th Pedro Choto (4:03:09); 31st Justin Faux (st); 32nd (MEX) Luis Jose Avila Balam (4:06:31); 33rd Rasheed Young (st); 34th Mark Staine (st); 35th Darien Anderson (4:12:06); 36th Isaiah Willacey (4:15:40); 37th Josh Wagner (4:19:44); 38th Preston Martinez (4:28:08); and 39th Shane Vasquez (4:28:25).
Masters Ranking: 1st Place – Fitzgerald “Palas” Joseph; 2nd Kent “Bob” Gabourel; 3rd Kenroy “Smokes” Gladden.
Female Race
The reigning queen of cycling, Alicia Thompson added another jewel to her crown on Sunday when she won the finishing sprint to claim victory in the female version of the 2018 Belmopan Cycling Classic, which saw 4 female cyclists travelling from Belmopan to Gracie Rock and back to Belmopan, a total of 60 miles. Finishing order was: 1st Place – Alicia Thompson (Belize Bank Swoosh, 3:08:10); 2nd Kaya Cattouse (C-Ray Cycling, st); 3rd Taralee Ordonez (Kulture Megabytes, st); and 4th Kaylynn Gillett (Belize Bank Swoosh, 3:08:20).