The best piece of pavement in the City, the Regent Street – Albert Street circuit came alive on Sunday afternoon, September 13, as hundreds of cycling fans thronged the sidewalks downtown to witness the SanCas/BTB City Classic, a sequence of criterium races traversing Albert and Regent Streets from House of Culture to Belize Bank. It started with an Open Beach Cruiser race, followed by the Juniors & Youth, then the Cat 4&5 Over 30 Masters, and finally the top cyclists in the Elite & Under 23 category. All the races ended at the finish line on Regent Street between Scotia Bank and Brodies Hardware, with fans crowded on both sides of the street, a number of them neglecting the safety barriers. Thankfully, there were no accidents. (No female race was held due to insufficient entries.)
Part of the popularity of this Classic is no doubt due to the fact that fans get to see the cyclists in action repeatedly (about two and a half minutes per lap) and they can thus make their own assessment on the progress of the race. There’s a lot of bragging and boasting and arguing among fans, and the excitement builds with each new lap approach of the peloton to see “da who di lead now”.
1st place in the Open Beach Cruiser (3 laps of 1.28 miles for 3.8 miles) was taken by Kevin Cassanova (unattached) in 0:08:06, followed by Maurice Usher in 2nd at 0:11:37, and Kenrick Foreman in 3rd place also at 0:11:37. Fifteen riders participated.
In the Juniors & Youth race (15 laps of 1.28 miles for 19.2 miles) Trevon Salazar (Team Indeco) crossed the line alone in 0:50:58. He was followed in 2nd place by Austin Armstrong (Vega Crystal), 3rd Edward Reyes (Team Smart), and 4th Erwin Middleton (Team Indeco) all in 0:51:24. Twenty-five riders started this one.
In the Cat 4&5 Over 30 Masters (15 laps of 0.9 miles for 13.5 miles), former Cross Country Champion, Collet “Bunas” Maheia (Guinness) was 1st crossing the line in a 19-man peloton, all clocking a time of 0:34:03. In 2nd place was Fred Usher (unattached), 3rd Glenn O’Brien (unattached), 4th Sherwin Latchman (Guinness), and 5th Wilbert Jones (Benny’s Megabytes). Thirty-four riders participated.
And in the big race of the day, the Elite & Under 23 (25 laps of 1.28 miles for 32.0 miles), Marlon Castillo of Santino’s fulfilled the boasts of at least one staunch supporter near the finish line, as he out-sprinted Geovanni Choto of Sugar City Stars to take the first prize trophy, both of them registering a time of 1:20:52. In 3rd place, leading a ten-man peloton at 1:21:24 was Gregory Lovell (Santino’s), followed in 4th by teammate Darnell Barrow (Santino’s), and 5th Edgar Arana (Team Typhoon). Thirty-four riders also started this one.
Race sponsor Santino Castillo distributed the prizes for all categories in a brief ceremony immediately after the last race was completed.
The next races on the calendar of the Belize Cycling Association are: October 12 – Bypass Criterium – Orange Walk Town; October 18 – Sagitun Classic – Independence; October 25 – Dr. Rosado Races – Corozal.