Photo: Champ John Delong wins KREM New Year’s Classic
by Charles Gladden
BELIZE CITY, Wed. Jan. 3, 2024
American John Delong is the 2024 KREM New Year’s Day Cycling Classic champion.
The Annual KREM New Year’s Day Cycling Classic has become the second biggest event on the annual cycling calendar, surpassed only by the Annual Holy Saturday Cross Country Classic.
As the race’s slogan, “from the border to the boulevard” indicates, 107 cyclists participated in the annual race from the Santa Elena border in the Corozal District to Central American Boulevard in Belize City — a grueling 96-mile journey for those in the Male Elite & Under 23 & Masters categories.
Cyclists in the Juniors & Youths and Women categories travelled the 52 miles from Orange Walk Town, in front of Town Hall, to the FINISH line.
Reaching the FINISH line on the Boulevard first in the Elite category, John Delong clocked in at 3:35:33 for Team Skyline Cadence (5 minutes and 22 seconds longer than the record holder, Marlon Castillo at 3:29:55 in 2009). Coming in next was Cory Williams (Williams Racing Team), and the 3rd cyclist to arrive was last year’s champion, Derrick Chavarria (Team G-Flow Cycling).
This is the second Krem Classic championship for John Delong, who also won the Krem Classic in 2019. He has been a regular feature for a number of years in Belizean cycling, and is also a consistently strong finisher in the Holy Saturday Cross Country, where he placed second in 2022.
“We were very excited that it was a high-quality race. We had some very high-caliber riders ending up dueling on the highway, and we saw gamesmanship and strategy and saw errors in strategy, which might have some sensational outcomes with surprise at the end,” said Mose Hyde, a member of the management team for the Krem New Year’s Classic.
Men – 96 miles
Top 10 Elite finishers: 1st: — John Delong (Team Skyline Cadence); 2nd — Cory Williams (Williams Racing Team); 3rd — Derrick Chavarria (Team G-Flow Cycling); 4th — Justin Williams (Williams Racing Team); 5th — Eric Trapp (Team G-Flow Cycling); 6th — Jyven Gonzalez (Team G-Flow Cycling); 7th — Carlton Robinson (Alliance United); 8th — Giovanni Lovell (Team Lovell); 9th — Delton Rojas (unattached); 10th — Oscar Quiroz (Team Valvoline).
Masters 35+ finishers: 1st — Kent “Bob” Gabourel (Team Kulture/SPD); 2nd — Gregory Lovell (Team Lovell); 3rd — Robert Liam Stewart (unattached).
Masters 4/5: 1st — Sherman Thomas (Team Police Cycling); 2nd — Roque Matus (Team M&M Engineering); 3rd — Vallan Symms (Team Kulture/SPD).
Women/Juniors/Youths – 52 miles
In the Women’s category there were 4 participants (3 Elites and 1 Youth), and reigning champion, Kaya Cattouse secured her title as back-to-back Elite champion, clocking at 3:00:15.
Amandala notes that Kaya Cattouse has won the Women’s Elite category five times: 2012, 2016, 2019, 2023, and 2024.
Elite Female finishers: 1st — Kaya Cattouse (LA Sweat Cycling); 2nd — Mary Joyce Monton (Williams Racing Team); and 3rd — Gabrielle Gabourel (Team G-Flow Cycling).
Female Youth finisher: 1st — Arielle Gordon (Team Griga Cycling) —3:11:32.
Some 25 young male cyclists signed up to participate in this year’s Krem Classic race for male Juniors & Youth:
Top 3 Male Juniors finishers: 1st — Tyler Tejeda (Valvoline Cycling Team) 2:30:21; 2nd — Devyn Major (G-Flow Cycling Team); 3rd — Jaylen Briceño (G-Flow Cycling Team).