James Adderley has cycling action on Sports Monday
Good evening, I’m James Adderley and you’re invited to this monster dish of Sports Monday. The Santino’s Cycle Classic, in its fifteenth edition, for the first time featured a two-stage race which reigned supreme here in the city over the weekend.
We take you to the start on Saturday on the Northern Highway and it’s a field of some forty riders including five internationals brought in by race sponsor Santino. This ride heads to the cut-off at Crooked Tree to swing back for the big finish at the B.T.L. Park some sixty-three miles later and they’re off.
Some two hours, thirty-seven minutes, fifty-four seconds later it’s the solitary figure of Mateo Cruz who heads to the tape for the mighty big “W” in uncontested fashion for which Cruz reaps up a crucial fourteen points in the race for the overall winner.
A minute and four seconds later Ray Cattouse out-sprints the chase pack of some six riders to take second place, forcing Andrew Smiling into third, Quinton Hamilton fourth, Fred Usher fifth, Douglas Lamb sixth and Bobby Lee seventh.
We now go to day two for the thirty-five-lap criterium which begins with controversy as Ray Cattouse faces ejection after allegedly pushing Kenneth Butler the day before. Eventually Ray Cattouse is allowed to ride pending a protest decision and finally the forty riders take off for thirty-five laps around the Princess Margaret Drive. In the third lap a lead pack emerges but it’s covered by a sea of yellow jerseys which say the twelve-man team of Santino’s is in control.
The first real break in this ride finds two Jamis: John Cipola and Grant Potter jumping to a forty second lead, but the chase group stays on the case. However, John Cipola, in his first Belizean contest, leaves teammate Grant Potter on his own as he pounces to a solo lead off a cruel pace. Under the full blast of the tropical sun, most experts believed Cipola would have to fade, but instead he expanded the lead from forty seconds to two minutes, five seconds.
It might appear unbelievable but it is John Cipola heading to the tape with no challenger in sight to take the criterium win in two hours, four minutes, eight seconds. Now here’s the sprint for second place. It’s Steve Meujack, Andrew Smiling and Mateo Cruz in that order. With a fourth place finish Cruz gets seven points which are enough to give him twenty-one points. He emerges the overall winner of the 1999 Santino’s Classic.
Q: “You finished with your fourteen points yesterday, today you seemed to have built on that giving you a bit of confidence?”
Mateo Cruz, Winner, Santino’s Classic
“I knew I did not have to win the race, the glory would have been better, but last week I stepped into Santino’s place and saw the cup and said that I had to win it. That really motivated me. When I saw Meighan going of the front with “Calliman,” but I did not want to bring him because of some personal differences, and I let Grant go and I sacrificed myself for the sprint.’
John Cipola meanwhile had to settle for second overall with eighteen points but was happy for the team win.
John Cipola, Second Place
“I just had the opportunity to get up front and my teammates worked impeccably to slow down the group and kept me alive.”
Q: “How big is this move for you? We know that you’re a big international rider.”
John Cipola
“Oh, this is very big. I mean the crow is fantastic of people.”
Hey folks nuff respect to Mateo Cruz for the biggest win of his career so far. In the meantime folks there were a couple other races on Sunday’s program and here’s the start of the mountain bike fifteen laps.
Ariel Rosado establishes himself as the man to beat again and guess what they won’t beat him today. He rides in alone for the big “W”. In the sprint for second place Troy Burns beats out a deep field edging out arch rival Paul Trapp of Hattieville who takes third. Abraham Castillo also known as “Delgado” pulls up fourth. Roger Troyer rounds out the top five.
Now here’s the three-way shoot-out in the female race and Cross Country Champion Camille Solis pulls out the after burners to pick up the “W,” Violet Morrison, newcomer, grabs second forcing Fiona Gonzalez, former Cross Country Champion, into third.
Changing gears folks, suppose they gave a party and nobody came? Well it almost happened Sunday morning in the annual ten-K run presented by the Belize Amateur Athletic Association. These athletes are all ready to go but no official has showed up for this race because they couldn’t come up with the prizes, as far as we can understand. Millie Jackson was right when she said, “frustration ain’t no fun”. Track star Joseph Carr explains.
Joseph Carr, Marathon Runner
“We heard that they were going to have this ten-k this morning starting six o’clock and we came out from five thirty. We haven’t seen any official, nobody. This doesn’t make any kind of sense; it’s been in the papers and everything. We came out to run, no official, nobody out here and I have to ask those guys but all of us feel the same way.
This is not the first time we came out here to run a race and they have no race. It’s sad. This new government that got in said that they will “big-up” sports and I don’t see how.”
Hey guys, don’t let the bureaucrats get you down, okay. Grab the bull by the horns and the people in high power positions we say, just do your job.
In closing folks, the Belize Football League was to kick off its regular season on Sunday. Five games had been scheduled. Unfortunately just before the start of the competition, President of the B.F.L. decided that he had not received enough registration fees from players to warrant the beginning of the season. But next week is when the Under Twenty-three National Team is supposed to host a visit from their Guatemalan counterpart in an effort to get to the Sydney Olympics. We’re just gonna have to keep you posted on the developments as they occur.
That’s it. We invite you back same time, same place. Jah over all. I’m James Adderley.
