January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Butterfield, Duffy Athletes of the Year
Butterfield, Duffy Athletes of the Year
Butterfield, the former Olympic triathlete, was recognized for riding for top French amateur team Vendee U, finishing 11th in the Commonwealth Games and the coup de grace - signing a professional contract with U.S. team Slipstream.
He also finished sixth in the Caribbean Cycling Championships road race and led through the first three stages of the Tour of Guadeloupe, winning the first stage.
He said: "It's a great honour to be recognized from all of Bermuda, not just within a certain sport, especially when you look at people like Michael Sims, who has just turned professional.
"It's not every day you get put forward to be Athlete of the Year for your country."
Butterfield said he hoped next year would be an even better one for him as he aimed to establish himself with Slipstream.
"Basically I just want to improve and be recognized as strong on the bike and a good rider within the team and the cycling community.
"The team is aiming for the Tour de France in 2008 as a wildcard and then in '09 as a Tour team. They're good goals for the team and good goals for me. Whether its as soon as 2009 or not, I don't know.
He said he was also looking forward to helping with the fight against drugs in cycling, which his team is spearheading.
Butterfield, who was out coaching young cyclists at Clearwater at the weekend, added that he wasn't letting the success get to his head.
"I've been a professional for six weeks and my head still fits through the door."
He also added a word of praise for Flora Duffy, who excelled in triathlon - the sport in which Butterfield first made his name.
"She's come a long way. Her big breakthrough was to beat past world champions and finish eighth in the Commonwealths and she's just gone on from there."
Duffy was also second in the World Junior Championships, sixth in the Cancun World Cup event and ninth in the Hamburg World Cup event. She finished the year ranked 38th.
Bermuda Bicycle Association president Peter Dunne said it was great that a 'fringe' sport like cycling had one and a third Athletes of the Year.
Equestrian Jillian Terceira, runner Ashley Couper, golfer Michael Sims, squash player Nicholas Kyme, cricketer Irving Romaine and Butterfield all won Achievement Awards.
Terceira was recognized for placing 28th and 37th in two Class III events. Couper was honoured for breaking the national record in the 1,500m and placing ninth in the Commonwealth Games. Sims was recognized for tying for 75th place and qualifying for his Nationwide Tour card while Kyme was honoured for finishing second in Bermuda's national championships and winning a bronze medal at the Central American and Caribbean Games. Romaine's award came for - in part - scoring the first Bermudian century in One Day Internationals.
Other award winners included: Special Achievement - Aldwin Savery (football), Brenda 'Pat' Lake (track and field); Sports Citation: Calvin 'Baldy' Hansey (Marathon Derby), Fred 'Pinks' Lewis (football), The 1976 Olympic Men's 4x100 Relay Team (Mike Sharpe, Calvin Dill, Gregory Simons and Dennis Trott); Lee Raynor (cricket), BAA (Football), The Cricket World Cup qualifying team.[[In-content Ad]]
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