Cyclists prepare for Holy Saturday Classic
In the less than flourishing world of Belizean sport it is the one event that never fails to command the public’s unstinting support. Come Saturday morning, whether you are canoeing in Cayo, swimming in San Pedro or putting down beers in Placencia, chances are you will also be listening to the radio for news of the big race. This morning News Five’s Patrick Jones, George Tillett and Stephen Ferguson got up before the roosters to see how things are shaping up for the Cross Country Classic.
Day after day, through rain or sun, they’ve been beating the pavement up and down the Western Highway. These are the gallant men and women who go all out each year to keep tradition alive and hopefully take home a few prizes – in the Annual Cross Country Cycling Classic.
Over one hundred male cyclists including competitors from Guatemala, the U.S.A., Guyana, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic will line up before dawn on Saturday in search of the prestigious title.
Ernest Meighan, Bel-Chi Cycling Team
“I don’t know who is coming in. I heard some tough American is coming this year so it will be real tough this year. I expect a very hard race this year.”
While the race is expected to be tough, the local boys feel they’ve got what it takes to keep the garland at home.
Bruce Virgo, Sponsor, Bel-Chi Cycling Team
“We won last year so this year it’s gonna be pretty hard to repeat. But if we doesn’t win we should put on a good show. Cross Country is kinda funny. It’s a lot of talent, but a little bit of luck too, so hopefully we can go out there and win the race, but if not we’re gonna put up a good show.”
But putting on a good show for spectators along the one hundred and forty four mile course is no easy feat, especially for athletes without sponsors who must foot their own bill. According to Lincoln Lucario, a thirteen year veteran of Cross Country racing, it’s the love of the sport that has kept him going for so long.
Lincoln Lucario, Self Sponsored
“Well if you work the shift I work, the hours I work, you barely get to see your family because you need to put in a lot of time on the bike, right. It demands… the sport demands a lot out of you, physically… mentally. Sometimes you go home, you just want to go to sleep after the ride and then you have your family to tend to, you can’t do that, you know.”
But as demanding as the race might be, Lucario and many other athletes who every year show up at the starting line without winning anything, believes that with a bicycle, the right frame of mind and a little help from mother nature, anything is possible.
Dennis Vanzie, The Shop
“I truly hope so. When I first left Belize in 1975, I prayed and hoped that I would someday be able to ride this race. I’m now thirty two years old, almost thirty three and this might be my first and only opportunity so I will like to seize it now that if I don’t get the chance again in the future, well at least I can look back twenty years from now and tell my kids, look, at least I get the chance to do it.”
Meanwhile, female side of the race, with four entrants this year, seems like it’s going to be a dandy. For pioneer Camille Solis the competition has never been tougher.
Camille Solis
“Actually that’s the way I go into all races. You can’t take anything for granted, so it’s no different. You can feel great up to the night before the race and when race day come it’s another story. But I’ve always said I can only give it my best and we’ll see how that works out.”
Alma Sanchez-Bennett
“I’ve watched some video tapes of her and she looks very good, very strong… very seasoned. She knows the road and the conditions very well. I hope I can do decent.”
Solis has been riding the Cross Country Race, sometimes as the sole female entrant, for eight years now and sadly she says, the women seem to be headed no where, fast.
Camille Solis
“For a while it was on the up movement, but recently it has gone down again and I don’t know what it will take to improve it.”
But while the women try to figure out how to get their race back on track, the local boys have pretty much figured out that the way to keep the Cross Country title in Belize is to adopt, if necessary, a spirit of nationality.
Roque Matus, Courts Powerhouse
“We have a very good chance. The only problem will be cooperation. See what happen in a Cross Country, despite we riding for different teams, towards the end what will have to happen is you need to put the team issue aside and ride for the country and that’s what the situation will have to be for us to win.”
Bruce Virgo, Sponsor, Bel-Chi Cycling Team
“We’ll work with the best guy and if he’s not there, we’ll work with the next guy next to him. So that’s what we are – part of a team. We go out there and we ride as a team, it’s no one man, it’s team work. Who ever is at the front, the best rider we’ll work for and if he’s not there, the other guy that’s there. It’s all about team strategy.”
Strategy, which the different teams, and individuals will add the finishing touches over the next couple of days. And one less obstacle on the Western Highway this year will be the dreaded Hawksworth Bridge in San Ignacio. An informal poll of the riders’ Tuesday morning suggests that the idea of diverting the race away from the bridge is one that couldn’t have come at a better time.
Lincoln Lucario
“That’s a big improvement. That bridge is very, very dangerous. Especially now, it’s dangerous – especially when it rains.”
Ernest Meighan
“With me, I prefer that it should go back over the bridge. I mean to say over there, there is always a crowd of people hyping up the Belizeans. It just feels better around the circle and right back through the bridge, and… I don’t have no problem with it but as I say I would prefer if we go back through the bridge.”
Roque Matus
“I think it’s a good move because a lot of peoples’ race ended last year due to that bridge because a lot of punctures happened there. And we need to assure a little bit of safety because at this stage that bridge is very dangerous and if it would rain that day or drizzle, it would be even worse.”
But come rain or sunshine the cyclists will be out in force on Saturday giving all they’ve got and hoping for the best. Patrick Jones, for News Five.
A meeting on Wednesday will decide whether or not the race will cross the Hawksworth Bridge.
