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Geri Mewett and Karen Bordage were crowned champions at the Bermuda Bicycle Association's R.M.S. Construction National Road Race Championship at Southside, St. David's on Sunday. Mewett, who lives in Knoxville, Tennessee and races for the Hincapie/Coca-Cola Cycling Team, broke away from the pack with Garth Thomson as Thomson powered off the front of the group. The two men then rode the rest of the race together until the final lap when Mewett was able to distance himself from his competitor, crossing the finish line just less than a minute ahead of Thomson. In a sprint for third place Mark Hatherley held off Rodney Davies who had been chasing to catch up on his own for the majority of the race and Wayne Scott.

In the women's race, Bordage's victory was overshadowed by a crash in the final 100 while veteran racer Julia Hawley crossed the line unscathed in second place. The Open women started with the Intermediate men and the 15/16 boys, making for a pack of 21 riders that mainly stayed together for the duration of their 45 mile race. Mark Lombardi took the Intermediate win, just ahead of Philip Woolridge and Charles Dunstan. Woolridge had the ride of his young career and is looking very strong in advance of representing Bermuda at the Junior Caribbean Cycling Championships in Curacao next month, and teammate Aaron Place finished sixth in the sprint finish.

Other Junior National Squad members had strong performances in the last major road race before heading to Curacao for the July 12 and 13 competitions. Alex Godfrey held on to lead the 15/16 boys with Ryan Gunn behind him. Thomas Godfrey and Tyree Armstrong suffered early mechanical problems leading to premature exits while Sophie Adams and Hayley Evans, scheduled to compete in the Juvenile (15/16) Girls category, finished their 30 mile race in good form.

The junior squad departs for the Caribbean on July 10th and will return to Bermuda on the 14th. In total, 8 riders will represent Bermuda at the third Junior Caribbean Cycling Championship.[[In-content Ad]]

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