Choto is King of the Hills

Good evening I’m James Adderley and we’re certainly glad you could join us for this serving of Sports Monday. We’re inside beautiful Dangriga Sunday morning where this bust of Thomas Vincent Ramos silently presides over the start of today’s seventy-five mile cycle race weaved into the Garifuna Settlement Day programme in Dangriga.

As the athletes register and ready themselves for take off time, it becomes obvious there’s some disappointment that the race finishes at San Ignacio today. But the fact is this race is teams sponsored by Mario Castellanos of Cayo.

As we show you the start, we must confess the current brouhaha inside the cycling community caused the Santino Cycling Club and the Guinness Smiling unit not to participate, resulting in only twenty-eight riders suiting up at the start … and well, they’re off.

Six miles out of Dangriga, Nisan Arana, Brendan Cattouse, Frederick Banner, John Newport, and Rafael Choto engineer this clean breakaway and look to run. That is until they run into that steep incline on the Hummingbird Highway, we call the gap. And now it’s Giovanni Choto establishing himself as the dominant force on the hills.

By the time the race reaches Armenia, Nisan Arana steps up to claim the premie from a pack of twelve. At La Cabana, Elston Coleman uses this station prize to successfully extricate himself from the pack and would go on to claim the prizes at Garbutt Texaco Gas Station in Roaring Creek. And here he is, unchallenged as he captures the premie on Mount Hope on this solo flight.

However, around Georgeville, Coleman is eclipsed by his C-Ray team-mate Giovanni Choto who mounts a challenge to the pack, catch me if you can.

As a mater of fact folks, they wouldn’t and this is Giovanni Choto winning the Marion Castellanos King of the Hills race uncontested in a time of 3 hours 25 minutes, 5 seconds.

His brother and team leader Jose Choto rides in alone for second place. Gian Ochaeta then rolls in for third place as C-Ray Sweeps the top three spots in this one. Darnell Barrow and Jeffrey Zelaya both of Benny’s Megabytes then pull up in that order to round out the top five.

James Adderley
“What kind of strategy did you utilise to be able to win this event?”

Giovanni Choto, King of the Hills
“Well, we mi seh we mi gwain all out pan the hills and try goh lef the crowd because Shane mi wah be wah strong man out deh fi let go and we run the race and thanks to Ray Cattouse and his family and Mr. Mario.”

James Adderley
“Where did you when you knew that you had the power to just win this unchallenged?”

Giovanni Choto
“Right by Ontario and I gone and Jeffrey chase and they couldn’t ketch me, so I just decide fi goh from deh.”

Jose Choto, 2nd Place
“I feel very good because me and my lee bredda train. Me and all my lee bredda them and my team, most of my team train together and the way how we set first and second—first, second, and third, and I mi really satisfied with the performance weh them bwai put off.”

In the junior class, Tariq Cano of Team Indeco won the forty-mile ride in 1 hour, 59 minutes, 26 seconds forcing Ted Shabazz into second and Hernan Ochaeta into third.

Meanwhile, Shalini Zabaneh of Sagitun was unchallenged in the ladies ride and was very disappointed about the state of affairs.

Shalini Zabaneh, Female Winner
“It was alright, very hard. Very disappointed that the girls didn’t show up, but it was alright, hard.”

James Adderley
“How you mean the girls didn’t show up?”

Shalini Zabaneh
“No idea. I am not sure, I definitely want to begin racing with the juniors, I think it is going to help me improve because I definitely want to go outside—you know, like in Martinique, I want to be able to come home and do good stuff.”

James Adderley
“Are you saying you’re not very happy with this win?”

Shalini Zabaneh
“No, definitely not.”

Now lets head to the Wild Wild West, more specifically the San Lorenzo farm at Cayo where on Saturday seventeen horses are lined up for a twenty-four mile endurance race presented by Hanna’s Horse Riding. Immediately into the blast off, you’ll see a rider to the right of the screen ran into a steel cable to the lamppost. Mercifully both he and his horse would continue. By the way, meet the youngest participant today – Alecia Coyi who comes in at six years old.

Folks, the course features eight, three-mile laps for a total of twenty-four miles and after six laps its Lucky leading the way, followed by Pajarito, Jasper, and Ralph.

Come winning time, it’s Cesar Chi and Ralph taking top honours in 2 hours 27 minutes, which translates into all of fifteen hundred dollars. Lucky who fell off the lead settles for second place, while Forrest Gump trots in to take third place.

Turning to football news, here are results of play in the RFG Cup Tournament over the weekend. F.C. Belize burned Georgetown Ibayani 1-zip; the San Pedro Dolphin sunk Santels 2-nil; Hankook Verdes took the lead in the standings with a 2-1 win over Suga Boys Juventus; and in the big showdown at Griga, Wagiya and Revolutionary Conquerors battled to a 2-all draw.

Looking to the weekend schedule, on Saturday the B.D.F. marches south against Georgetown Ibayani; while on Sunday the San Pedro Dolphins host Wagiya; Suga Boy Juventus travel to Revolutionary Conquerors; and F.C. Belize will be at the MCC Grounds against Hankook Verdes, this is on Sunday.

Now here are the results from the Super League of Belize. Roots F.C. routed Adventures 5-nil; Belmopan Bandits edged Barrio Fino 1-nil; Forever Strong Kraal Road burned Estrellas F.C. 1-zip; while Benque D.C. United blanked Alpha Barcelona 2-nil.

Week six of this schedule finds Kraal Road and TexMar Boys in action at the MCC Grounds. Bandits faces Estrellas at Belmopan, both Saturday matches, and on Sunday Barrio Fino visits Benque D.C. United, and Alpha Barcelona battles Adventurers at the People’s Stadium.

In closing folks, we want to give a shout out to our boy, Roy “Pele” Ellis in town for a short vacation. Hey my man, enjoy. That’s it for now though; we invite you back same time, same place, next week. Jah over all, I’m James Adderley.