A bitter personal quarrel between two high-profile cycling personalities, Gerald Garbutt, president of the Belize Cycling Association, and Santino “The Chief” Castillo, business magnate and owner of Belize’s most successful cycling team – Team Santino’s, erupted into public warfare today when Garbutt suspended four of Santino’s best cyclists, three for one year and one for two years.
The suspensions are devastating to Team Santino’s because if they stand, not only would the cyclists – Geovanni “Froggy” Leslie, , Greg Lovell and Marlon Castillo – be unable to participate in the second biggest race on Belize’s cycling calendar – the KREM New Year’s Classic, but they would also be unable to participate in cycling’s most prestigious race – the Holy Saturday Cross Country.
Relations between Garbutt and Santi, never very good, nosedived last week when cyclist Ray Cattouse, who himself apparently has no love for Castillo, on KREM Radio’s WUB shows on December 19 and 20, accused Castillo of importing a performance enhancing drug, EPO, “which he caused to be taken by members of Team Santino’s.”
The allegations were repeated by Garbutt on KREM and on his own Positive Vibes Radio. Castillo, through his lawyer, threatened to sue both RayCat and Gerald for slander. He demanded a written retraction and apology from both, and today we received a letter from Cattouse, who bowed to Castillo’s demands.
Garbutt, however, appears to be holding his ground where a written apology is concerned. He says he has apologized personally to Santino, but only for mis-stating one minor detail of the report he had received from the Customs Officer, regarding the positioning of labels on the controversial cooler. That is as far as he is prepared to go. He has, instead, suspended Leslie, Marlon Castillo and Lovell for one year, and suspended Cruz for two years. The sentences are because, he said, the four did not show up for an ordered drug test last Thursday, December 20.
Garbutt told Amandala last week that he has the backing of the parent cycling body, UCI, whom he informed of the incident, and who, he said, gave him guidelines on how to proceed against cyclists who had been ordered for testing and who did not show up.
In our conversation with Santino this afternoon, he insisted his team has done nothing wrong and expressed optimism that his appeal will be successful and the sanctions withdrawn against his riders, hopefully in time for Tuesday’s KREM Classic.
In contradiction of Garbutt’s assertion that the four Team Santino’s riders did not show up for testing, Castillo tonight sent us a letter, dated December 21, purportedly from Dr. Anastacio Cob, certifying that the four riders had appeared for their tests within the 24- hour prescribed limit from when the Association’s request had instructed.
The letter, however, did not say if any tests were done, and if so, what were the results. In our conversation, Santino did say that the requested tests, for which he had personally taken his riders to be performed, could not be done because the required kits were unavailable.
Tonight, also, Castillo sent us a copy of a letter sent to Garbutt, telling him that the decisions were “unfair and inconclusive.” Santi listed three points of contention, and asked the association’s board to examine the case, “as per our by-laws.”
Essentially, Castillo reminds Garbutt that the KREM Cycling Classic “is only just four days away,” and wants him to have a “stay of execution” for the present, so that the riders can participate.
In the last word from Garbutt tonight, he says his position stands, and he will be consulting his lawyers to defend his Association’s position. He says his other executive members are fully updated with the situation, and agreed that the Santino appeal, which he has not looked at yet, will be dealt with according to the Association’s rules.
Incidentally, this newspaper has come into possession of a release from Sugar City Boys Cycling Team manager, Damian Gough, “to all BCA Teams and Managers,” in which he demands disciplinary action against those riders involved in the controversy.
Both Santi Castillo’s and Ray Cattouse’s letters appear in this edition of Amandala.