Striking the winning pose. Guadalope's Louis Teplier about to cross the line as the 2005 Jason Bally Memorial Champion!! Photo by Troy Christopher.

TORTOLA—Neither persistent rain early in the race, winds, damp conditions throughout, or even a flat on the third lap, could slow Guadalope's Louis Teplier who blew away the field to win Sunday’s Jason Bally Memorial race on Tortola.

Teplier grabbed a lead on the second of the 20 lap race after the course was shortened when the section through Lower Estate was eliminated because of the weather and never looked back. He won in 2 hours, 57 minutes and 19 seconds. Trinidadian teammates Stephen Mangroo and Roger Smart followed.

“We feared the race in the beginning, because no rider likes riding in this type of weather,” president of Telpier’s VCG Club, Saint-Elmo Arnell said. “It was all planned that we would make the early break and be by ourselves because of the conditions, that way, we’ll get the better part of the road. He did a 95 mile time trail so we knew he was ready. We also knew we had a great team and a lot of riders were looking at Gibbs (Dwayne) and Kennedy (Gordon). We sent out a different soldier in from to lead the race.”

Arnell said at the beginning of the year, his goal was win all three major memorial races in Anguilla, St. Martin and the BVI. “We did it and I’m a happy president,” he said.

Mangroo said the rain was a factor in the race. “I was cold in the beginning and didn’t want to race because the weather was terrible,” he said, noting that Teplier got away from him very early. “That guy took some chances. He attacked on a corner where it was slippery and terrible, then caught my teammate Marlon (Williams) and left him. Then I caught Marlon and we worked together, but two laps after, I got a puncture by the time I got my wheel, there was a gap.”

Focus!!! Mangroo in the rain. Photo by Troy Christopher.

BVI Cycling Federation president David Thomas said the event would have been better if it didn’t rain. “The rains really killed it. We changed the course and it became a faster race, but the rains killed the technical aspect of it,” Thomas noted. “We still have a lot of work to do because I don’t think the public realized how big an event this was and they definitely have no clue of how big the Caribbean Championships will be here next year.”

Prior to the weather, Thomas said he got good feedback from participants about the course, which explained gave cornering, false flats and Fort Hill, which he described as a ‘power hill.’ He said it would have been a great technical course and doesn’t believe a lone rider would have gotten away like Telpier did.

Despite the promise of the course which was being used as a dry run for next year’s championships, Thomas said there’s a lot to be done and the Police must be more involved in barricading the road. He commended the 40 plus people who stood in the rain to stop cars.

Trinidad's Roger Smart out sprint's Guyana's Kenndy to the line for third.

“We only had two or three officers when we were expecting eight or nine. “Without Police control, it hurts the whole event,” he said. “We had over 90 cyclists registered for both events today and next year it will be over 100, because a team will come from every country. Despite it all, things turned out pretty good. We had no incidents with the cyclists.”

Top Finishers: 1. Louis Teplier, Guadalope, 2 hours, 57 minutes and 19 seconds. 2. Stephen Mongroo, Trinidad. 3. Roger Smart, Trinidad. 4. Gordon Kennedy, St. Martin. 5. David Lopez, Puerto Rico. 6. Ken Jackson, Antigua 7. Dwayne Gibbs, St. Martin. 8. Godfrey Pollydore, Antigua, 9. Ramon Diaz, Puerto Rico. 10. Kris Pradel, Anguilla.

Women: Sue Brown, St. Croix. 2. Chantale Dougapard, Guadalope

Expert: 1. Patricio Carti, St. Maarten, 38 minutes, 41 seconds. 2. Bievendi Carti, St. Maarten. 3. Antonine Randefort, St. Maarten.

Puerto Rico's David Lopez leading the field up Fort Hill. Photo by Troy Christopher.

Jr. Division. 1. Jyme Bridges, Antigua. 2. Darel Christopher Jr. BVI. 3. Thynel Martin, Nevis.

Puerto Rico's David Lopez leading the group that would eventually challenge for 3rd place. Photo by Troy Christopher.

Trinidad's Stephen Mangroo striking the pose for 2nd place! Photo by Troy Christopher.

Anguilla's Kris Pradel crossing the line in 10th. Photo by Troy Christopher.

© Copyright 2003 BVI Cycling Federation

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