BELIZE CITY, Mon. Mar. 19, 2018– A field of some 39 Junior (under 18) and Youth (under 16) cyclists, including 3 Mexicans, embarked on a 74-mile journey yesterday morning, starting at 9:00 a.m. from the Succotz Ferry and travelling all the way on the George Price (Western) Highway, through Belize City and onto the Philip Goldson (Northern) Highway, to end in front of the main race sponsor, BEL, after making one lap around the Buttonwood Bay Boulevard and NAPA roundabouts. It was the 19th running of the Annual (Cycling Federation of Belize) CFB/BEL (Belize Electricity Limited) Junior Cross Country Cycling Classic, and 20 of the 26 cyclists that completed the ride, did it within the official time limit of a half hour behind the race winner.
Having placed 6th in the 2016 Junior Cross Country, the name Shawn Codd came to national attention when he followed this up with a powerful ride to win in solo fashion the 2017 Krem New Year’s Classic. He was 3rd in the recent 2018 Krem Classic, considered a good indicator of cyclists’ Cross Country possibilities; and yesterday, in his last ride as a Junior, Shawn Codd, riding as the sole member of his Furnished Apartments Ltd. Team, gave another commanding performance on his way to the Junior Cross Country championship. Shawn broke away early from the main peloton; was eventually caught by a chase group of three; settled back in that group until within his comfort zone as he approached Belize City; and broke away again, never to be caught by the last duo that were hanging with him – Patrick Williams and Derrick Chavarria, the youngest rider in the race. Shawn then made the gallant solo ride around the roundabouts lap, before triumphantly crossing the finish line in front of BEL in a time of 3:56:50.
A couple minutes after Shawn had crossed the line and was on his way around the roundabout lap, fans were treated to the entrance of two more cyclists, side by side, in what would prove to be a dramatic sprint for second place, between Patrick Williams, riding his last Junior Cross Country, and youth rider, Derrick Chavarria, who will just turn 15 years on August 17 of this year.
After the crowd had cheered the champion across the finish line, they waited for the duo that was slowly making their ride around the roundabout lap, preparing for their final sprint. And it was a sprint indeed, so close that a number of fans were unsure of the winner, until video and camera footage confirmed that young Derrick Chavarria had taken 2nd place. (See picture.)
The main peloton soon streamed in, with the following final results: 1st Place – Shawn Codd (Furnished Apartments Ltd., 3:56:50); 2nd Derrick Chavarria (Chavarria Cycling, 4:00:47); 3rd Patrick Williams (Marie Sharp’s, st); 4th Erick Trapp (Marie Sharp’s, 4:06:39); 5th Henry Li (Michael Pate’s Depredadores, 4:12:50); 6th MEX Esdras Dominguez (Force, 4:13:05; 7th Derick Bonell (Uprising Super Riders, st); 8th Tevin Chaplin (Marie Sharp’s, st); 9th Jeshaun Fraser (Uprising Super Riders, st); 10th Shawn Armstrong, Jr. (Surge/D&A Construction, st); 11th Randy Azueta (Surge/D&A Construction, st); 12th Mairon Munoz (Michael Pate’s Depredadores, st); 13th Wendell Williams, Jr. (Westrac Alliance, st); 14th Joseph Tillett (Chavarria Cycling, st); 15th Jyven Gonzalez (unattached, st); 16th MEX Miguel Paredes (Force, st); 17th Shamin Burns (Western Spirit, 4:13:44); 18th Fernando Rosado (Miguel Pate’s Depredadores, 4:13:57); 19th Shayle Paredes (Chavarria Cycling, 4:15:00); and 20th Jerell Wade (Marie Sharp’s, 4:16:11).
Six other riders completed the journey outside of the half-hour limit, namely: 21st Gian Lovell (unattached, 4:28:46); 22nd Efrain Mencias (unattached, 4:31:14); 23rd MEX Rolando Acosta (Force, 4:33:48); 24th Mykal Morris (Western Spirit, 4:41:45); 25th Andrew Waight (Western Spirit, st); and 26th Manuel Pulido (Western Spirit, st).
Prince of the Hills Competition
1st – Shawn Codd – 20 points; 2nd – Patrick Williams – 19 points; 3rd – Derrick Chavarria – 11 points.
Youth Category
1st – Derrick Chavarria; 2nd Erick Trapp; 3rd Henry Li; 4th Mairon Munoz; 5th Jyven Gonzalez; and 6th Fernando Rosado.
This coming Sunday, it’s the Women Cross Country Classic.