Is the Cycling Federation Responsible for Performance by Belizean Athletes?

So do the dismal results of the 2019 Cross Country Cycling Classic rest of the shoulders of the federation? Three Guatemalan nationals, namely: Julio Miranda, Alex Julaju and Jose Conastuj took the top spots in that order with American rider David Flynn coming in fourth and Belizean cyclist Giovanni Lovell rounding out the top five. There were only three Belizeans in the top ten. Cattouse says that the onus is not solely on the federation.

Kaya Cattouse

Kaya Cattouse, Female Cross Country Champion 2019

“As much as I am against the federation, I cannot lay the full blame on them for the results of the cross country on Saturday. I mean, the main guys riding the race; their managers, their sponsors as well as the federation—everybody has to take a fair share of the blame. But the federation does have a lot to do with it. We don’t have any development programmes. There are a lot of things that we do not do that can be done. How did the federation help to prepare our local guys for the race? What did they do to prepare them? It was left up to guys to basically say this is what I think I need to do so let me do it. I mean in the past, federations have brought in coaches to assist with coaching different teams. They have brought in people to give coaching courses to coaches and teams. All these things have stopped. It’s just like cycling is a halt. You look forward to cross country every year and that’s it. If it is not a major private entity sponsoring a race, a race does not happen. When you look to the federation for sponsoring a race, it is the road championship. And what do you receive for being the national road champion of Belize? A medal and a jersey that you will get nine months after you have won. There is no incentive for us as cyclists; we do it because we love it.”