Belizean gets second place in female cycling classic
Good evening, I’m James Adderley and you’re locked into this delivery of Sports Monday.
The Mother’s Day weekend brought the twentieth Female Cross Country Cycle Classic to the nation yesterday as athletes, including five foreigners made a bid for the most prestigious title in the sport. An early look at the pelathon shows a compact unit in search of this seventy mile win today. But it’s Gina Lovell who looks out of the pack to grab the first station prize on the outskirts of Santa Elena. It would be her only premie and it’s all because of the monstrous performance by this Guatemalan Cyclist Paola Salazar, who breaks out of the pack before Central Farm sweeping all the remaining station prizes en route to the W. Just outside Georgeville Salazar adds the Three Sisters climb to her extensive list of conquest today. For certain, she has the main pack struggling as they try to reel her in. At Roaring Creek the chase remains intense while Paola Salazar remains out of sight. We now speed up ahead where we find the solitary figure of the lead rider easily in control of the pace as she gets up off her seat to stretch her legs. In the meantime, her appearance at the Belize City entrance alone all but assures her of the big “W” today. And here is Paola Salazar riding for Sagitun winning the twentieth Female Cross Country Cycle Classic in a time of four hours, six minutes, eighteen seconds, grabbing all but one station prize on the way. Over nine minutes later, a seven person sprint is launched for second place and its Gina Lovell or team Lovell with the after burner to claim that spot. Defending champion Shalini Zabaneh of Sagitun and Lori Harkey of Hencapi Team are deemed to be tied of third place, Marinette Flowers rounds out the top five finishers today.
Paola Salazar, 1st Place
“It was a hard race, this one was hard but at least I had a team so they helped me a lot.”
Gina Lovell, 2nd Place
“To be honest, no I’m not satisfied. Even though I did all the work, I mean these girls can do better. I guess they play cat and mouse and watch one another. So two months training I had, I guess I put in enough so I don’t mind if I come in last place. I know I try hard enough. So yes, I disappointed in a way and yes, I’m happy.”
Shalini Zabaneh, 3rd Place
“I had to sacrifice myself this year and it’s okay. It’s a team sport when it comes down to the finish. The strategy was for Paola to go and clean up the station prizes and clean up the wins and if the race was any different then for me to break across. But it was a really hard race. Like I said, it comes down to sacrificing and it’s okay, I’m a team sport.”
In other cycling news Health Maxx presents the First Annual Extreme Bike Challenge this Sunday May seventeenth and here is Robert Mariano of Health Maxx to fill in the details.
Robert Mariano, Health Maxx
“Weh we di do, we di try fi have wah mountain bike race annually, at least once a month we wah try fi do one. Ih wah start dah mile eight pan di Western Highway going through West Lake Park all the way to the back, come back out. Dat dah wah five to six miles course and we have different route pan it. We have kids from ten to fourteen, we have non-elite, elite and female and all prizes we wah have from one to five fi all di prizes. Di kids, we got prizes fi all di kids weh participate inna di race, dehn sponsored by Grace Kennedy, Seven Seas and we have for the elite and non-elite prizes, weh dah wah plane ticket to di cayes fi two weh sponsored by Tropic Air.”
James Adderley
“So how do we get in?”
Robert Mariano
“Well, all weh yoh have to do dah go dah any one ah di bike shop dehn and get di information. Yoh could register deh or yoh could register at di race di morning. Ih wah be Sunday di fifteeth, at ten o’clock ih wah start. Di kids wah start off at ten o’clock. Di kids only wah do two miles, di elite wah do thirteen to fifteen miles.”
Turning to the basketball scene, the Interoffice League returned to action Sunday at the Civic Center with Belize Electricity Board handling Central Bank in a 52-44 final score, Castillo Sanchez and Burrel picked up its first season win with a 60-33 blow out of Grace Kennedy Limited. B.W.S. pressured continued its undefeated run with a 52-46 win over Kolbe Foundation, Guardian/Housing Department stopped Tuff e Nuff Tour 65-50 and Port of Belize shut down Medical and Johnsons 62-41.
On tonight’s schedule in the Interoffice League, Kolbe Foundation takes on S.S.B./B.N.T.U., Cellular Plus Customs will face the General Post Office at K.H.M.H. will be paired up with Medical and Johnson.
In other Basketball news, U.B. Jaguars ran past Warriors in the Brannon Brothers Memorial Basketball Marathon to win yesterday’s five team double eliminating marathon in undefeated fashion. We say congrats.
Checking in on the football scene let’s head to the F.F.B. Stadium inside Capital City Belmopan in here Game one of the F.F.B. Women’s knock out Tournament for the Delhart Courtney Cup was presented as Triple B’s faced off against Suga City Girls. Very quickly, Triple B’s assumes the role of protagonist and in fact, Kiana Martinez almost gets her team onto the scoreboard on this furry to the net, only to be denied by tough Suga City defense. Rhonda Welcome then gets this look at goal that ends with a clash of bodies with the O.W. keeper. Mercifully, both of them would recover and continue. Nevertheless, we’re twenty-two minutes in when Rhonda Welcome gets another shot at goal and this time the right foot launch beats the keeper for the 1-zip Triple B lead. A few minutes later, Rhonda makes a bid for her second goal of the match but this time she is turned away by the keeper . Rhonda’s second attempt is deflected to Kiana Martinez, who makes it a 2-zip ballgame at the forty-third minute. At the seventieth minute of this outing, Abby Halliday picks up this loose ball and beats the keeper to make it a 3-nil score. Halliday then makes it a 4-nil ballgame when Vanessa Maldonado finds her in the danger zone and the right foot push tangles in the net. We’re at the seventy-sixth minute when Karen Garcia unleashes this good looking spot kick that bounces off the crossbar to Julie Castro who beats goalkeeper Margaret Hulse for the consolation goal as Triple B’s post the 4-1 big W over Suga City Girls. Game two of this home and away championship series now moves to the People’s Stadium, O.W. this Sunday May seventeenth at three-thirty p.m.
Meanwhile Folks, the B.P.F.L. season returns to full force this Thursday, May fourteenth, with round four. In the North Suga Boys Juventus will host F.B. Belize and the B.D.F. will be at the M.C.C. Grounds against the San Pedro Bullsharks. In the south, Wagiya gets a visit from Tafari at Griga and Scorpion will face Georgetown Ibayani at Independence. Round five, which comes up on Sunday May seventeenth finds the battle of San Pedro as Bullsharks go up against the Dolphins, Nizhee Corozal will host F.C. Belize and the B.D.F. battle Suga Boys at the M.C.C. Grounds. Down south, Wagiya meets Scorpion at the Michael Ashcroft Stadium, Tafari will be in PG against Hankook Verdes and Illagulei gets a visit from Georgetown Ibayani.
Finally folks, play in the Cayo Softball Action at Blackman Eddy yesterday saw Esperanza Wolverines pummel Unitedville Golden Girls 23-1, Roaring Creek Grace Kennedy shellacked Santa Elena 18-1 and Camalote Tuff e Nuff ran over Blackman Eddy Royals 8-1.
Hey folks, that’s our show for today. We invite you back same time, same place, next week. Jah over all, I’m James Adderley.
