Cyclists gear up for Holy Saturday
This afternoon the public got a chance to see some of the athletes who will be competing in the 72nd Holy Saturday Cross Country Cycling Classic. The occasion was the annual cycling parade. It started behind the Supreme Court and took riders through the principal streets of Belize City. The race is 144 miles long and takes about 6 hours to complete although that time has been broken in the past. The competitors say they have been pedaling hard for several months and are ready for the road.
Ernest Meighan, Cyclist, Bel-Chi Team
“Right now I’m already prepared my hard training is already done, right now I am really relaxing, get all my massages and stay focus for Saturday and hopefully I can do something good for our country.”
Douglas Lamb, Cyclist, Santino’s Team
“Well I have been putting in a lot of training. The race started real late in the year, which is very good for a lot of cyclists who was on an off-season. Right now like how it starts so late, everybody get a real good chance to prepare themselves well for this race.”
Violet Morrison, Cyclist
“Well I have been doing training, going out five or six times for the week. Most of my training during the week is basically on the flat and on Saturday and Sunday I try to work in the hills since this last four weeks.”
“Also I would like to talk about the support that they have had. What I’ve heard about the first prize for the female, it is kind of discouraging for the female when you hear that the first prize for the female is only $500 and you have a total sum for the guys of $30,000. We the female pay the same fee as the male so I don’t see why our prize will be so small. We have the government and the female organizations who I’ve not heard have supported or have donated anything to the female donation, or any winnings to the females.”
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
“Steve last year you came in second what do you think your chances will be in Saturday’s classic?”
Steve Mlujeak, Cyclist, Santino’s Team
“I think I have a good chance just like last year. We got a lot of miles in this year, done a lot of racing and the whole team’s pretty strong, so hopefully one of us can get out there and win again.”
We here at News Five wish all riders well on their journey. Meanwhile Gerald Garbutt, the president of the Belize Cycling Association, in response to Morrison’s comment, says no final figure has yet been decided on how much will be awarded to the first female rider.
