Cyclists gear up for Cross Country
There are those who head for Miami, for Cancun, for San Pedro or Dangriga and P.G. but there are also those who head for the Western Highway. Every Easter Belize’s cyclists forego the pleasures of foreign or domestic travel to carry on a revered sporting tradition: the Holy Saturday Cross Country Classic. This year the riders’ desire to win will be as strong as ever. But like a good race, this year there is a little controversy to spice things up, and a few adversaries yet to be sized up. So whether you will be listening to the race on the radio at home or braving the sun to watch the finish in person, here’s a preview — and some predictions — from the men and women who dedicate themselves to this sport.
It’s on! This Saturday over one hundred cyclists will congregate in front of the old August Meat Shop before their journey to San Ignacio and back. The prize: the garland of the 1999 Cross Country Cycle Classic. Early this morning many of Belize’s very best were out in preparation for the big event.
Quinton “The Badest” Hamilton
“I did a lot of long rides and hit enough rest for the rest because it’s a very long journey: a hundred and forty-four miles. As a young rider people usually say that you are very young so you should be up there.”
James “Cactus” Welch
“This year I will just go along with the program and like the years before when you just go out and win some creams, right. I hope for the best.”
Orson Butler
“Towards the preparation I have been taking time off from work on Wednesdays to put in a total of one hundred and fifteen to one hundred and twenty miles. And on Sunday I do the same.”
Fitzgerald “Palas” Joseph
“I did a lot of training and I believe that come Holy Saturday I will be, I am not sure that I will be a force to contend with for first place but I plan to give a full show of myself this year.”
James Frampton
“You can expect a good competitive ride from me and my team; we will surely be a good competitor.”
Douglas Lamb
“Coming Saturday what you can expect is you are going to hear or see Douglas Lamb in the front; so that’s what you can expect.”
A new and shining star Norma Nuñez has more reason than most to be excited about the race. Just a few weeks ago she didn’t think she’d even be able to participate.
Norma Nuñez
“A taxi knocked me down about three weeks ago and I thought it would have vanished my dreams of riding Cross Country. But I guess my will inside was stronger than my mind because my mind was, “no, no, no, I can’t do it.” I couldn’t walk for a week. I had stitches on my foot, my face as you can see. I was a bit discouraged but I wasn’t going to give up the dream just like that. So a week after I took my bike and went up to Cayo this Sunday. I did good so I was surprise. So I’m going to be right there side of them.”
While the 1997 Cross Country Champion declined to comment this morning, Ernest “Jawmaine” Meighan will surely be missed by the owner of the Jamis Team and his former teammates.
Santiago Castillo Jr.
“Clearly Jawmaine was the man for the team. He was a franchise rider. I started this Jamis Grupo Taca team with Jawmeighan and everybody was drafted after him and they all knew that Jawmeighan was the man. Certainly when he came to me last week Thursday to give me notice that he was leaving, the entire team was devastated. It was something that he was telling us for weeks that the Bel-Chi team has given him fifteen thousand dollars to leave. I didn’t believe that they would come up with the money.”
Douglas Lamb
“Having Jawmeighan leave is like a brother leaving me. We have become real close and it hurts.”
Many of the Belizean riders are a bit wary of having the Cubans participate this year but others believe it’s good for the competition.
Ray Cattouse
“The Cubans as far as I see them are not as big as some of the other guys might put them. I think that the Cubans that are here are just at the level of our cyclists.”
James “Cactus” Welch
“It’s just a competition; may the best man win. All of us are human beings. If certain guys are taking something or not it will come down to the wire. Who will survive the distance.”
Orson Butler
“The association tends to invite the Cubans, the Guatemalans and the Mexicans without an entry in one race before the Cross Country.”
We asked some of the riders who they believe will come up in the top five.
Anthony Taylor
“You have Jawmeighan who is one of the top guys down here. So it should be good. You also have the Cubans, the Guatemalans, couple other guys from the U.S. – from team Jamis.”
James Frampton
“To five. Hard question but I will be there.”
Norma Nuñez
“Myself of course. I don’t know who will be with me but I will be there I know.”
The only thing I can say at this time is, may the best person win. Hyacinth Latchman for News Five.
The Holy Saturday Cross Country Classic begins at 5 a.m.
