American wins “Tour de Santino”
Good evening I’m James Adderly and this is another serving of Sports Monday. The three-stage Tour de Santino took centre stage over the weekend with fifty-three riders, including six Americans and eleven Mexicans in the hunt to be number one.
It’s Friday 5:30 a.m. on the Western Highway as the time trials gets off with man and machine battling against time. If you think cycling has no pressure, then you don’t know the half. Herman Requena does as he falls at the very start of the 10.6 mile journey. Fortunately, he recovers and would post a time of forty-one minutes, seven seconds to finish fourteen minutes behind the leader.
The leader today just happens to be the American Chris Harkey of Smiling Meats, who posted the best time, twenty-three minutes, seven seconds. Another American, Bobby Lee, riding for Santino’s put up a time of twenty-five minutes thirty-one seconds to finish second.
The best Belizean time came from Jeffrey Zelaya, an unattached rider, who recorded twenty-five minutes, forty seconds for a third place finish in the time trials.
If you’re looking for Ernest Meighan–so were the officials–Jawmeighan arrived four minutes late and had to be brought back to tape after infringing the starting rules to loose some eight minutes even before starting. That effectively took away his shot at the overall win.
So we go to stage two on Saturday for the seventy-mile road race and here Santino hands the leader jersey to Chris Harkey deservingly so, and this is just before the start. Now keep your eyes on the middle of your screen, just three minutes into the race, Barrington Young tries to dodge this pothole, which leads to this ugly accident that takes Fred Usher and Shawn Lightburn out of the picture. Mercifully, they would live to ride another day, but certainly not today.
At the halfway mark, it’s Ernest Meighan, Quinton Hamilton, Ryan Garbutt, James Frampton and Bobby Lee in control of the race. Meanwhile, the chase from behind is led by tour leader Chris Harkey, who will not be denied.
However, with four miles to the tape it’s Bobby Lee, Quinton Hamilton, James Frampton and Ernest Meighan at the head of the class. So we go to the sprint for the W and its Ernest Meighan making the first move, Quinton Hamilton responds immediately, James Frampton challenges for second, but fails, while Bobby Lee cruises in for fourth place. Jawmeighan wins stage two; this is after finishing almost last in the time trials. Chris Harkey placed twentieth in the road race.
Thus going into the final stage yesterday, the new leader turns out to be Bobby Lee with a twenty-second lead over fellow American Chris Harkey for the start of the criterium ride around Princess Margaret Drive.
Big Mike Lewis makes his move in the early goings, but would be eventually reeled in and locked. Trying to make up time, Chris Harkey pushes the pace, but Ernest Meighan of Santino’s locks on to his wheel.
It’s getting late and Harkey finds himself alone in the lead as Jawmeighan goes to bring up his team leader Bobby Lee. For Andrew Smiling, the rules are cause for consternation and here he vents his emotion.
But its back to the Harkey chase as Jawmeighan brings back the pack that also includes the Baddest Hamilton. However, at money time it’s Chris Harkey winning his second stage in an impressive fashion.
In the battle for second place Gabriel Hernandez of Mexico emerges as the man, beating out his paisano Angel Calam, Quinton Hamilton pulls up fourth, while Bobby Lee rounds out the top five. Nevertheless, Harkey had gained twenty-six seconds in the criterium on Bobby Lee to give Smiling Meats the overall win. We certainly send our congratulations.
In the meantime, Santino had to settle for the best team win after placing Bobby Lee, Mateo Cruz, James Frampton, Ariel Rosado and Jose Choto all in the top ten overall. Chris Harkey’s overall time was clocked at four hours, fifty-six minutes and thirteen seconds–six seconds over Bobby Lee and two minutes, twelve seconds over Quinton Hamilton, who gave Belize its best finish at third, so he’s still the baddest.
Turning to the football scene, we head to the MCC Grounds as Lagio Jumex of Orange Walk faces Metro Stars of Belize City for the BNFA National First Division football title.
The visitors take the lead off this left foot right-away shot from Guadalupe Trequeno that crosses into the net seven minutes into first half play and that opened the floodgates. Goal number two come into an empty net after the goalkeeper is beaten and the defense embarrassed. Five minutes later Trequeno catches up with this centre and drills it for a three-zip lead for Lagio at the half.
Lagio Jumex would go on to win the BNFA championship with a four-one big W and will step up to play among the big boys in the semi-pro football league, which is scheduled to get off on September thirteenth with an eleven team marathon at the MCC Grounds. We are going to keep you posted. Events coming up that you’ll want to keep abreast of are the Central American Body Building Championships, featuring seven nations of Central America. Certainly, that’s a biggy. And of course, semi-pro basketball comes on October sixth now. We’ll wait and see.
