by Charles Gladden

BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Feb. 22, 2024

Cycling fans in the Jewel and the diaspora are catching fever as the highly anticipated Holy Saturday Cross Country Cycling Classic is closely approaching.

The race is a national tradition for many cycling and non-cycling fans throughout the country. Spectators line up alongside the George Price Highway, from Belize City to San Ignacio and cheer on their favorite riders on the journey of 140 miles from Belize City to San Ignacio Town and back.

Annually, over 100 cyclists from abroad and locally, the likes of Giovanni Lovell, Brandon Cattouse, Derrick Chavarria, and Bryon Pope, line up for the race. In an exclusive interview with Amandala, the reigning champion Oscar Quiroz, Jr. told us that he will be defending his title in this year’s race.

“Cross country never dies or never gets old, in my opinion … once you believe in Cross Country, and once you live through this race, it never gets old. The want and the need to always win is there, and I feel this year … as a part of my overall goals for this year … I feel like this season for sure includes this particular race … I think it’s a goal as long as I am competitively racing,” he said.

“… I feel like at this point, I’m very much in the position to bring the garland for a second time. I always believe that if you have the opportunity, and you’re in the right position, especially with the years I’m still in my prime, and I’m granted those years, I don’t see why I should not take advantage of the opportunity that I have at this time. Why not go for a second one? Why not go for a third one? The want is always there, [and] the passion is always there. I’ll always channel for this race, no matter what. For sure, a second one would be sweet, maybe not as sweet as the first one. But of course, it will be sweet to get a second one,” Quiroz added.

But before the highly anticipated Holy Saturday race which is set for March 30, there will be two other races leading up to the main event – the Junior Cross Country Race will be on March 17, and the Women’s Cross Country Race will be from San Ignacio to Belize City on March 24.

“All these races are built up to the annual Holy Saturday Cross Country, [and] of course we will have foreign riders in these. We had foreign riders express [interest]. What we do is review the names, and make sure that they are eligible to ride our event,” said Leticia Westby, General Secretary of the Belize Cycling Federation.

She further mentioned, “We are anticipating to have more international women in that competition [Women’s Cross Country]. As you know, Kaya is a pro-rider who rides on LA Sweat. She is sending around a flyer because her team is having a training camp here in Belize, and based on being here for that time, they asked to be riding. If you note, there wasn’t much competition for Kaya at that level, so we agreed with her that we would be inviting other women from the US and the surrounding areas.”

Westby said that as the date comes closer for the big race, riders will begin to submit their names to participate, she noted that for the Women’s event, teams from Mexico and the US are expected to participate.

The Holy Saturday Cross Country Cycling Classic was held for the first time in 1928, with Elston Kerr being the winner in that first year.