Guatemalan wins Cross Country Cycling Classic
Good evening I’m James Adderley and we present to you, this Tuesday version of sports Monday.
As dawn breaks across Belize City on Holy Saturday, all traffic leads to Leslie’s Imports just outside the city limits where eighteen teams, thirteen local and five foreign units which adds up to ninety-eight athletes are suited up for the start of the eighty-second annual Cross Country Cycle Classic. A closer scrutiny of the scene finds Shane Vasquez, the last Belizean champion, deep in thought maybe a flashback to glorious 2006. Arguably, the very best of the elite class are gathered here to embark in this one hundred and thirty-nine mile ride to San Ignacio and back in a quest for fame, glory and personal achievement when the starting gun barks.
A quick check at the rear of the race reveals it’s no easy task maneuvering your way forward except by real acceleration, cycling skills, determination and an acute awareness of the many dangers lurking in heavy traffic. For Robert Stewart of M&M engineering, being victimized by an early back wheel puncture is certainly an unwelcome variable, but he accomplishes the equipment adjustment in some nineteen seconds. Meanwhile the first real breakaway in this year’s race is cemented at mile seventeen by this group of five that features Mateo Cruz, the Mexican Donizetti Vasquez, Byron Pope, and the two young upstarts Edward Reyes and George Abraham Jr., running to a one minute thirty-seven second lead as they flash through Hattieville. They certainly worked well together as a lead pack, displaying co-operation and utilizing the rotation effectively to maintain a speed of twenty-six miles per hour. Just as important, the rotation deals a couple of preemies to each of the five front runners. It would last only to the Belmopan junction, an area loaded with the biggest station prizes. The demise of this on the road alliance begins with a sprint for the one thousand dollars Belmopan prize that sees Byron Pope resist the rotation to snatch up the dollar bills. Mateo Cruz then throws caution to the win as he strikes for back to back station prizes in reply. 
The Mexican Donizetti Vasquez also joins the mad rush for preemies in a case of cut me in or cut it out. Who does benefit most from this untimely and self- inflicted fragmentation is another Mexican rider, Omar Garcia suited up for AAA Loans. Garcia would complete total control of the pace by tracking down Reyes who had used the chaos to run alone at mile fifty-one. The duo would run all the way in an uncertain relationship to Santa Elena where they are overtaken by the American John Delong of Subaru and Zamir’s Venezuelan import Gil Cordones. Still, the youngster Reyes captures the halfway mark at San Ignacio in a time of two hours thirty-eight minutes twelve seconds. Followed by Cordones, John Delong and Omar Garcia and Edward are also the first rider onto Hawksworth’s Bridge on the return journey.
They pass the main peloton on their way back to Belize City, hoping it’s the last time they’ll have to see the lot. Outside Central Farm this Zamir rider Allen Castillo crosses over to the lead pack in a rather surprising move pushing that number now to five riders clinging desperately to a one minute lead. By the time the race reaches mile forty-seven the lead has ballooned to fourteen individuals adding Jose Choto, Gregg Lovell, Quinton Hamilton, Byron Pope, Roger Troyer, Hugo Rangel, Miguel Perez, Andrew Myers and Marconi Duran to the biggest lead pack since six in the morning. At mile forty we find a thirteen man breakaway as young Allen Castillo of Zamir has given way to the brutal pace which had earned them a two minute thirty-seven second lead over a compact peloton. However, at mile thirty-four the lead pack is down to four. Hector Hugo Rangel, Santino’s Mexican is on the pace, next is his 
teammate Gregory Lovell, while the American John Delong and the Guatemalan Miguel Perez refuse to contribute to the rotation or render any assistance to the pace. In the meantime the large chase group remains a minute and a half behind and is unable to mount a concerted effort for diverse reasons. Naturally the fans are lifted up by the sights of Belize’s fastest sprinter Gregg Lovell still in the lead four when they flash pass Hattieville at mile seventeen but the pattern remains with Hugo Rangel doing all the pacing as he tries to shield his Belizean team mate. Now here comes the drama, at mile six by Berton Bridge Miguel Perez launches this vicious attack right on the bridge- John Delong on the outside responds immediately, Gregg Lovell tries to hang on while Rangel is set adrift on the lead pack. A minute later Perez mounts another telling attack to see what Lovell has left in the tank while grabbing the old Belize station prize leaving Lovell and Delong to struggle. But wait a minute, four riders have stepped up to challenge for the 2010 Garland- namely the Guatemalan Luis Santizo of Sugar City. Followed by Wilman Bravo of Zamir, Marion Castillo Belize’s number one cyclist also of team Zamir and the Mexican Donizetti Vasquez of Depredadores from Chetumal, Mexico. Of course, Miguel Perez is not about to hang around and pushes the pace on a solo flight to memorial park. Behind him, seven riders, Bravo, Castillo, Vasquez, Santizo, Rangel, Delong and Lovell begin to reek off resignation. Nevertheless, Miguel Perez continues to pull away into the City heading to the Fort George Area. Venezuelan Wilman Bravo steps out to launch the only challenge to Perez’s final throw down while the remaining six seems to be unable to summon the necessary effort at this particular time. Miguel Perez enters Belize City proper as a solitary figure with enough left in the tank if necessary. He continues the surge as he mounts to Belcan Bridge and now knows the 2010 garland is his to have.
Even with the finish line in sight the lead rider does not back off his punishing pace. And as he pulls to the finish line Miguel Perez, a Guatemalan riding for Sugar City Stars, dresses for success as he captures the Garland, uncontested in 2010 in a time of six hours nine minutes twenty-two seconds, twenty-nine minutes ten seconds off record set by Ryan Bauman in 2008. Forty-one seconds later Wilman Bravo, a Venezuelan riding for Zamir, rolls in alone for second place and he deserves it. Marlon Castillo also of Zamir then concedes third place to American John Delong of team Subaru. Castillo is the first Belizean rider to cross the tape at fourth timed at six hours, ten minutes, fifty-three seconds – a minute thirty-one seconds off the pace. An exhausted Gregg Lovell pulls up fifth after a disappointing performance in the final five miles of this event. His Mexican team mate Hugo Rangel who did most of the pacing after Belmopan on the way back settled for sixth, he had truly done his work in Belize. Donizetti Vasquez of the Mexican team Depredadores pulls up seventh. Guatemalan Luis Santizo of Sugar City rolls in for eighth place. Two time champion American Chris Hankey of Subaru is ninth in 2010 while Venezuelan Gil Cordones of Zamir rounds out the top ten. Of the ten top positions the local riders took only two spots, fourth and fifth. To add insult to injury only five Belizeans finished inside the top fifteen.
Miguel Perez, 1st Place, 82nd Cross Country Classic
“I feel really good and I thank God first of all and I am grateful to Melin Vasquez for this opportunity and for believing in me to win this race. We had many alternatives, many strong riders and we believed our best man was Marlon who was well guarded by other riders and so I decided to take the lead. With God’s will I’ll return next year with pleasure, if not that’s it for me.”
Marlon Castillo, 4th Place, 82nd Cross Country Classic
“I dah wah very marked man every race. I couldn’t mek wah move from out deh cause I wah burn out myself and burn out mi energy and down di stretch ah noh wah got it. So dat was di correct move; wait. My foreigner was the one who mi di talk to me. Dehn two already mek we know from dehn come noh matter who deh dah front, dehn wah mek sure I reach dah front and dehn did it. I reach dah front and di rest dehn di come. I dah wah marked man; everybody di watch me.”
James Adderley
“But it was one of your teammates who eventually won. How did that come around? I mean you guys are Sugar City, you guys had road cooperation.”
Marlon Castillo
“Come on, I did my attempt nuff time. di rest ah foreigner just deh pan my wheel. Dehn mek my foreigner go. I noh wah chase my foreigner fi mek wah next foreigner from a next team win.”
Gregg Lovell, 5th Place, 82nd Cross Country Classic
“Roudn mile four a group of Team Zamir they came across and they start another attack with those guys and Marlon was watching me like he don’t want me to win but I wasn’t worried about him. I was just trying to hold one of the foreigners, I was just trying to be careful not to make any mistake.”
2010 will go down as another painful experience for the local cycling community and it makes four years in a row since we’ve had a national champion. I guess it’s hard but it’s fair so we look to next year.
Hey folks, that’s our show for today. We return to our usual time slot next week. Before we go we want to say a big thank you to Jane Usher and Fiona Humes for their immense contribution to our broadcast of the eighty-second annual Cross Country Cycling Classic. Jah over all, I’m James Adderley.
it really dissapoints me to see a guatemalan win when truly our belizean riders should be winning this race. every day they are riding the highways abstructing traffic flow and for nothing. ain’t i correct? foreigners are winning and they barely know our highways. we really look bad internationally.
Belize is a disgrace… internationally.
I dont understand why Marlon Castillo’s “teamate” won instead of him. According to Marlon, he placed “team” before country. He had no problem to sit back and let his”teamate” win. If Miguel Perez was ridding for Marlon, he would have assited Marlon to win. Perez was obviously ridding for himself and not the team. While Marlon was putting “team” first.
Marlon Castillo is cyclist with a hell of a lot of muscle, but NO BRAINS.
You obviously don’t understand bicycle racing. Marlon actually does have a high cycling IQ based on his comments. Having two teamates up front, there was no way he could attack the group and try to chase down the leader. Doing that could have meant victory for another team, but more importantly, had he attacked, he most certainly would have lost even if he could have made it to the race leader. Anyone who knows anything about cycling knows that fact. It was up to the others to attack, but they didn’t. I don’t think Greg had anything left to attack at the end as he should have. Zamir/SugarCity played it out exactly how they were supposed to. Miguel Perez going up the road was really a tactic in helping Marlon conserve energy. Having Miguel up front meant he didn’t need to attack and waste his energy. Racing is about conserving the most energy until the end. At the end of the day, team does come before country. Although Marlon didn’t win, he still gets a piece of that victory, financial and otherwise. If he rode with the flag on his back, my bet is that John Delong would have taken the Garland in that case. So please don’t make ignorant comments condemning our belizean cyclists when you don’t understand the dynamics of bike racing.
When ever Belizean cyclists start to do the things they need to win they will win. All this foreign competition will eventually drag some Belizean across the finish line as the champ perhaps in the next generation.
Here is a simple recipe: eat good (fruits, vegi, fish etc), drink plenty water, do not abuse liquor (if possible abstian completely), rest good no “bleaching”, ride & exercise to build stamina and lift weights to build strength. By the way do not rut too hard!
Try this! make it your life style and you may just win the next cross country race. A successful life is a “boaring” life but full of rewards.
Congratulations to the Guatemalan! Support your neigboring athletes. Isn’t it nice that he can participate in our races and we in theirs? Come on people, where’s the love?
When was the last time a Belizean won at the race?
I am starting to think that perhaps they should change the rules of the games so they might actually get to win, like keep it only for Belizeans.
Well, at least the Guatemalan is not squatting on our land……….
Ah disappinted but dah soh the cookie mi did crumble…….adding to this discourse is like flogging a horse every year for the same time for the past 4 years and all the horse do is wag him tail and brush the fly away and go on di eat the grass…..spur the Ma..F-ing horsy………money……resources…..discipline and dedication…..then Belize will get better results…..but noh mek no mistake ah wah deh right pan the sideline di watch fi the race and cheer…..cuz AH LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!
I have been in this foreign land for a while now,and i am up to date with sporting activities here in the u.s,and one thing i have observed is that ,in all sports the people partaking r very committed,persistent and consistent on what they do,Belize needs to start doing like every other country in the world does,eat,sleep and shit sports,i can’t say it no other way.u all need to stop preparing 1-2 weeks before any event and start preparing all year around,y do u think other countries r so successful because other countries r consistent with what ever they’re partaking in,y?because they eat,sleep and shit sports.How often do we see our neighbor honduras,el-salvador and mexico making it in soccer and watching them on tv internationally,y?because they eat sleep and shit soccer,Belize on the other hand wants to form a nationnal team in three months and expect to do wonders on the field,my fellow Belizean soccer players,stop fooling urselves,who ever organises stuff like this should have their own family members out there playing,because ur making a mockery out of these soccer players.U can’t be bleaching ur body,u shouldn’t be smoking weed,u should limit ur sex,limit ur alcoholic beverages and also go to bed on time,eat healthy food and most of all try ur best to stay healthy,u will see the benifits.Belize produces a lot of excellent soccer players and i would hope to see my home country get better at all sports.Ur job should be ur working out everyday with ur teammates and others that should be ur job and not construction or security and still expect to be on the field doing a #,it ain’t happenning stop fooling urselves.
We all got to realize that these guys are not getting payed to play any sport in Belize.Furthermore these guys do not get support from our government.I don’t even know if all these cycles could have afforded a physical prior to the Race.As a result lets not criticize them.How many of you sent some form of financial support to these Guys.I gurantee none.Lets put our money where our mouth is at.
They all did a wonderful job riding all those miles so congratulate all those who cross the finish-line because i would have been exhausted even in a vehicle for that journey. viewers support the cyclist whether they are Belizeans or not look and find the real meaning of CROSS COUNTRY! dnt discourage the cyclists. they all did a wonderful job and good luck to them in their future endeavors!!!!!!!!
Shame on you Belize for letting a Guatemalan to win in our country!!!!!!! SHAME ON US!!!
I dont know what kinda of true belizeans sit back and criticize their own people. We may not have won this one but damn we had some hard working boys out there riding. Like everyother sport we win some and lose some… at the end of the day we should be behind all our boys. Hats off and cheers to all our boys.. to the ones who crossed fourth in the race and those who crossed last. This is a signiture belizean easter tradition… maybe if people were more encouraging instead of stoning our people we could be more successful. Congrats to all who rode a good race! This isnt bout soccer or anyother sport. True cyclist know how the game is played if you dont know about it… keep your ignorant comments to yourself! Go Marlon Castillo!!!!
Tean over Country?
Why didn’t the Venezuelan stay and work for Marlon. More money was in it if Marlon won. Who cares if you bring everyone to the line. Go for broke.
the unic ciclist wath can won a cross county now is MARLON CASTILLO, whi the others team dont be all osible for an victory to belize, every team want win, but only one can win, that person is MARLON, im the champion.
I don’t blame marlone but i think the rest of belizean cyclists need to step up if you look at the amount of foreign rider that came in and the amount of belizean that rode the race noway that break should have stayed out there that long. That just show the selfishness of the other belizean rider, and as for santino team what made him think greg would be able to hold off those guys by himself when his teamate was working so hard to bring him to town while the other guys were taking a free ride . But the way i see it our belizeans rider need to start takeing pride and put in the effort and the work to bring the championship back we always tend to ride against each other thats something they need to get away from .
why are we putting the blame on the cyclist?competition is competition, if you didn’t support the cyclist during the year don’t say nothing, after that hard work 144 miles, wow, you do it and feel how it feels to ride that amount of miles, just keep hope alive and pray for a better chance next year with more support to these awesome belizean cyclist.
When a race has as much history and character as the Cross Country, it will attract the best atheletes in the world to come to my little country. Riding 144 miles alone is a feat to be proud of. A Belizean not winning is not the responsiblilty of the fans but of the teams and how the race plays out. While our riders go out on a “primmies attack” at the start of the race the International riders hang back and conserve energy. It is very unusual that a group breaks out of the peloton and make it all the way back to the finish line. What we need are better startegiest(coaches) and maybe consider having teams that has Belize’s best riders on one team if we want to return the Garland in the hands of a Belizean rider. Regardless if a Belizean wins or not , it is still the single biggest event in Belize and we should cherish it. Eventually a Belizean will win, our boys are great athletes, lets respect and support them all year round and maybe Easter 2011 will be the year. Lets support the younger riders and help them in training to ride not only the Cross Country, but to compete on the International level outside of Belize. I love Belize!!
Miguel Perez is the Man!!!!