Eleven of the 22 riders who faced the starter for Sunday’s CARICOM Road Race at the weekend failed to finish, some due to exceptional circumstances. Cyclists from four territories engaged on the 86-kilometre circuit, from the Castries Waterfront to the Choc-Union Roundabout and back 10 times. The race was funded by the Regional Integration Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister of Saint Lucia.
Benjamin Payen finished first overall. The Under-23 rider from Martinique finished the course in 2:12:43, an average time of 38.8 kilometres per hour. Another Frenchman, Yohann Pierre Louis, was just over six minutes back, his time 2:19:03, whilst right behind him was the first Saint Lucia across the line, the veteran Winston ‘Stoney’ Williams, in 2:19:10. Williams will be 54 this year.
Elite rider Trevor Bailey was the first from St Vincent & the Grenadines, ending fourth in 2:22:30. Barbados’ Daniel Lashley finished fifth overall, and second in the Under-19 category, behind Pierre Louis.
Saint Lucia’s top junior rider, Denver Alphonse Jr, crossed the tape in 2:22:49, narrowly missing out a on a podium spot in the U19 division. Fourth there, he was also seventh overall.
Ten of the 14 local cyclists were unable to complete the race. Eltus Joseph had two incidents, the latter of which involved a collision with a parked vehicle. That collision left him hospitalized.
President of the Saint Lucia Cycling Association, Cyril Mangal, told St Lucia TIMES that in spite of the injury to Joseph, he was satisfied with how the event unfolded.
“The event went pretty well, except for one mishap – we had an accident near the end with Eltus Joseph,” Mangal recounted. “By the second lap, they were pretty much together. There was a crash with Eltus Joseph. He got a bike change, chased, and caught up with the main bunch.
“But already, there was an attack, which included Payen, Williams, and Benjamin. Pretty strong riders, Benjamin finished in the top 10 in the Tour of Martinique recently, and Yohann was silver medallist in their national champs. That was a good break.”
Lashley, Barbados juvenile Jonah Kelly, and Alphonse Jr gave good chase, with some riders sustaining punctures on the second lap. But the leading pack continued to pull away, with Payen making a break of his own towards the end.
Mangal noted that this was the first regional event hosted by the Cycling Association in some time. He said that the hope is that this event becomes an annual one, though he lamented the fact that insufficient time was given to get more regional riders.
As at press time, Joseph is recovering well.
(TF)
