January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
I'd love to be able to win
Now the 32-year-old U.S. based rider returns to Bermuda as the island's biggest hope in this weekend's cycling Grand Prix.
Mewett, a pilates and fitness instructor in Tennessee, is one of two Bermuda riders in the elite field for this weekend's event.
He's been in great form this season on the pro/am circuit in the States and feels he has a genuine chance - despite admitting that he is up against one of the strongest fields ever to compete in Bermuda.
"I'd love to be able to win," he said.
"There's a lot of factors at play. I'm going to have to focus on one stage at a time and if everything falls the right way then that's an option.
"First off I'd like to do a good criterium in Hamilton on Thursday night and take it from there.
"This race has been one of my main focuses for the season. I've done the work, I've been feeling good in races lately and hopefully I can keep that up."
Mewett will be riding in a team with Bermuda time trial and mountain bike champion Garth Thompson and a couple of American riders, yet to be confirmed.
They'll be facing some stiff competition from the likes of top Canadian cyclist Gord Fraser, who retires after the race, and his HealthNet team as well as a pro team from Portugal, some of the top riders from the Caribbean and a host of North America's best cyclists, including Tyler Butterfield's new team-mates from the U.S. pro team TIAA-Cref.
Event organizer Peter Dunne said it was getting increasingly hard for local riders to make an impression in the race as the quality increased each year.
He expects U.S. National Criterium champion Brad Huff to be among the favourites with sprint specialist Russell Downing, who made the top ten in the Tour of Britain and Jamaican champion Oneil Samuels also expected to be in the running.
But he is not discounting Mewett's chances.
"Geri is no slouch and he knows these roads and knows how this race goes better than anybody."
Mewett is also hoping his knowledge of the riders from the American cycling scene will stand him in good stead.
"I know a few of them quite well and I have a feel for their strengths and weaknesses which doesn't hurt."
Mewett, a gold medalist at the Island Games in Shetland, also won the Dockyard stage of last year's race and finished 10th overall.
He believes his chances of bettering that finish hinge on his performance in the time trial.
"The time trial on Friday will be huge. It's not the be all and end all of the weekend but it would certainly be a big help to do well there."
Garth Thompson, who will be riding in the same colours as Mewett this weekend, said he would be playing more of a secondary role.
"To be perfectly honest this is a huge step up for me from the racing I do locally," said Thompson, who is in his second year in the elite field.
"Hopefully I can stay in the pelaton and do something to help Geri win the road race."
He's under no illusions though about the Hamilton criterium.
"He's on his own in the crit.
"Those guys really go for it. There's a lot of money on the line and I might have trouble hanging on, on Thursday night.
"My tongue will be probably dragging along Front Street by the end."
Thompson admits he found it tough going last year. "It was a learning experience to be honest. I was taken aback by it all."
He's been racing competitively overseas this summer and hopes to be better prepared this time around.
He said he hoped the CD&P Grand Prix will give him a hard competitive workout ahead of the Caribbean championships later this year.
He'll be racing as part of a Bermuda team with the aim of getting Mewett and Tyler Butterfield into the qualifying spots for the PanAm games.[[In-content Ad]]
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