Team ready for Caribbean Cycling Championship

Bermuda’s seven-strong team departed for the 10th Elite Caribbean Cycling Championships in Guade-loupe with “reasonable expectations” yesterday.

Representing the island in the Caribbean are professional cyclists Geri Mewett, Flora Duffy, Nicole Mitchell, Mark Heatherley, Adam Harbutt, Shannon Lawrence and Darren ‘Shaky’ Glasford.

Duffy, Mitchell and Lawrence are competing in tomorrow’s time trial, while Sunday’s road race will involve all team members.

This year’s championships will mark the first for well-known policeman Glasford, who recently won the inaugural IBC National Criterium Championships.

He said: “I tried to make the team last year but unfortunately I broke my shoulder, which was a big disappointment. Right now I am just trying to stay healthy.”

Glasford is bracing himself for what he expects will be a challenging course for Sunday’s road race.

He said: “It’s a different race altogether. It’s a 75-mile road race and it’s in Guadeloupe, so it’s going to have mountain stages, which is quite difficult for us in Bermuda to prepare for because our biggest hill is Knapton Hill, where you get to the top and then rest.

“In Guadeloupe we will probably be climbing for a half-an-hour or an hour straight.

“It’s going to be hard but I am looking forward to the experience. The team has been training well.”

Those in the team who could thrive on the hill climb are lightweight cyclists Heatherley and Harbutt. In addition to the challenging conditions, the island’s cyclists will find their work cut out for them against some of the region’s elite.

Glasford said: “The level out there is much higher because some of these guys are racing semi-pro and they have the terrain to train on.

“We have reasonable expectations because we are going to be turning ourselves inside out trying to stay with the lead group or the individual task of taking care of the team leader or someone who is pretty strong.

“A lot of people do not realize that cycling is a team sport. Everybody has a job to do on the team so it may not be your day to win the race.”

Accompanying the team are Bermuda Bicycle Association president Peter Dunne, Greg Hopkins and Arthur Glasford.