This year’s edition of the annual KREM New Year Cycling Classic has to be considered as one of the most exciting since its inception. All three categories had their own interesting twists, and all culminated in dramatic and exciting fashion.
A total of ninety-one riders, including masters and foreign riders, took part in the elite category, which started at the Corozal Border. There were thirty-four riders that participated in the junior category, and in the female category, nine riders. Both the junior and the female races started in downtown Shuga City Orange Walk.
The female race began at 8:30 a.m. And what can be said is that there were no real threatening breakaways. It was a cat and mouse game all the way to the city with six of the nine riders sharing the station prizes along the way.
Normally after every station prize, the rider who captured the said prize would try to use the momentum to initiate a breakaway. But the pack would simply reel in the rider and the process would repeat itself.
The race was marred by two spills which involved the Lovell sisters. Gabrielle Lovell was the first to go down between Miles 26 and 25. But her sister Gina slowed down and brought her back into the pack. The second spill occurred around the Nova Shrimp Farm with Gina taking the fall. This time Gabrielle Lovell showed some sister love by returning the favor and helping her sister back into the race.
As the race got closer to the city the competition for station prizes got more intense. A clear example occurred at the Mile 5 ½ (Jane Usher’s Residence) where Esperanza Leal gave it her all in an attempt to claim her first station prize. It was almost hers for the taking but Marinette Flowers came out of nowhere and stole the prize from her. Leal did redeem herself and claimed the last two station prizes as they entered the city.
Coming over the Belcan Bridge, Shalini Zabaneh appeared to be in front with the clear advantage over the pack. But just about 15 yards from the finish line Gina Lovell turned on the afterburners and clipped Zabaneh at the tape to take first place honors and the title of KREM 2007 New Year’s Female Champion. Shalini Zabaneh had to settle for the heartbreaking second place finish. Gabrielle Lovell came in third to complete the top three spots. The rest of the field finished as follows: Marinette Flowers – 4th, Kaya Cattouse – 5th, Shantia Morrison – 6th, Anthea Morrison – 7th, Esperanza Leal – 8th and Sheena Castillo – 9th.
With the pace at which the big guns were coming, the organizers had decided to start the juniors ahead of schedule in order to avoid possible complications. After going through with last minute instructions, the race got off around 9:27 a.m.
Northern Poultry’s Bertram Brown outsprinted the pack and took the first two station prizes – at Landy’s & Sons and then at the Toll Bridge. The lead then changed hands as unattached novice rider Angel Tzib took over the helm and was uncontested as he took the next three station prizes.
For almost the entire race, the pack appeared to be a highly unstable single cell organism that failed miserably at completing binary fission. Lloyd Andrews of M&M Engineering and Glenford Guy of Roaring Creek Cycling Club managed to separate themselves from the pack. With Andrews leading the charge, he overtook Angel Tzib midway between Miles 26 and 25 and captured the station prizes at Mile 25 and at Mile 23 1/4. Shortly after it became a three-man breakaway as Glenford Guy caught up with the leaders.
The breakaway did not last long, as they were quickly reeled in by the pack, which was basically still together with the exception of a few riders. Byron Pope of Benny’s Megabytes won the group sprint to take the station prize at Mile 20. After some futile attempts, there was finally a two-man breakaway as Erwin Middleton of Roaring Creek Cycling Club outsprinted his competitor from Orange Walk United to claim the station prize at Mile 15.
The lead continued to change, with Geon Hanson of the Belmopan Cycling Club taking the station prize at Mile 10, immediately followed by unattached rider Kyne Gentle at the Airport Junction. The defending champion, Peter Choto of C-Ray Cycling Club, finally made his presence felt by easily taking the station prize at Mile 5. Orange Walk United’s Edward Reyes took the last of the station prizes at the SanCas Plaza, then it was an all out sprint to where it mattered most – the finish line.
True to form, a group of riders crossed the Belcan Bridge together with Edward Reyes, Peter Choto, Byron Pope and Geon Hanson leading the charge. In the end, it was Geon Hanson of the Belmopan Cycling Club who broke out in front with the clear advantage and crossed the finish line to become the KREM 2007 New Year’s Junior champion. Byron Pope, Peter Choto and Edward Reyes followed closely with the 2nd, 3rd and 4th place finishes, respectively.
To round out the other top finishers, Rodrigo Leiva came in 5th, Tariq Cano – 6th, Hernan Ochaeta – 7th, Jose Juan Cuellar – 8th, Brian Lopez – 9th, Lloyd Andrews – 10th, Albert Conorquie – 11th, Ted Shabazz – 12th, Orlando Burns – 13th and Angel Tzib – 14th.
The elite race, which started at 9:00 a.m., was no different in terms of excitement. And like the female race, no one had the clear advantage. It was anybody’s race as the pack held together for almost the entire race. The station prizes were shared among twenty riders.
As usual, everyone’s main concern was the serious threat of the foreign riders, whose presence became most evident nearing the finish. The road into Belize City was lined with a plethora of attractive station prizes that could have easily lured any rider to burnout before reaching the finish line.
Defending champion, Scottie Weiss, an American rider representing Acros Guinness Smiling Meats, won back-to-back station prizes at the Grace Kennedy Compound and at Bilal’s Residence at Mile 3. Leslie Sanchez, a local rider for Comfort Air, then took the station prize at the Belama Entrance, then Scottie Weiss regained the lead by taking the station prize at Traveller’s Compound. Chris Harkey, another American rider riding for Acros Guinness Smiling Meats, then won the station prize at Mile 2 ½ followed by Scottie Weiss, who took the station prize just after Courts Belize. Marlon Castillo, the 2004 champion and last year’s runner-up, riding for Team Santino’s, won the last of the station prizes at the overpass at the entrance into the city.
But somewhere between the overpass and the Belcan Bridge, reigning Cross Country champion, Shane Vasquez of Team Western Spirit, took the lead and was the first to cross the bridge. After gaining an insurmountable lead, Shane Vasquez raised his hands in the air in a moment of triumph as he crossed the finish line well ahead of the other riders.
In the sprint for second place, Marlon Castillo of Team Santino’s edged out teammate Mateo Cruz, who finished third overall and first in the master’s category.
To round out the remaining top finishers, Jose Choto came in 4th, Darnell Barrow – 5th, Ian Smith – 6th, Eddy Usher – 7th, Scottie Weiss – 8th, Gregory Lovell – 9th, Adrian Faux – 10th, Roger Troyer – 11th, Orlando Chavarria – 12th, George Lovell, Jr. – 13th, Leslie Sanchez – 14th and Nissan Arana – 15th. Eddy Usher and Scottie Weiss finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in the master’s category.