Victory!!! Chris outsprints Grenada's Tyron Thomas to claim the championship.

St. Vincent - The BVI’s Chris Ghiorse became the OECS Cycling Champion on Sunday afternoon in Colonaire Bay, St. Vincent after out sprinting Grenada’s Tyron Thomas to win in 3 hours 28 seconds.

The 60 mile race attracted 31 competitors from Anguilla, Antigua, BVI, Grenada, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, and St.Vincent, and was competitive from the start with the riders attacking the course and each other with ferocity. With the course having a small climb at the turn around point, and rolling throughout, the day’s breakaway happened fast and early with 5 riders, Danny Donelan, and Tyron Thomas from Grenada, St. Vincent’s Marlon Antrobus, Ronnie Bryan from Anguilla, and the BVI’s Chris Ghiorse. This break proved to be the decisive move as the 5 worked together to keep off the charging peleton.

“After we got the break, I said to the guys that if we worked together to keep off the field, that this (break) would be 1 thru 5”, Ghiorse said after the race.

Team BVI in action....Neil Thomas, Phillippe Leroy, and Al Gauchi just out of the camera lens.

“I knew that Danny (Donelan) was a good climber, but the 2 young kids, Tyron and Marlon, were very impressive. Tyron kept showing that he was the strongest of the group, and he showed it at the end, even though I knew that I was stronger, I was still impressed by him.”

Team manager, David Thomas was very excited after the race. “Man it feels great to win!” Thomas stated. “I knew that we had a very strong team coming here, and that Chris is very, very strong at the moment. Our plan was to have Phillippe and Al cover any breaks, and if we missed the decisive break, the team was ready to sacrifice to help Chris get back on it, but it worked out the he (Chris) was there when the move happened.” Darel Christopher Jr was the youngest cyclist in the field, and riding in his 2ns OECS Championships. When asked how he felt the race went…..”I think that I rode well,” Christopher said. “Even though I got dropped, I was still able to stay with some of the guys in the field, and I even dropped some too.” Thomas added, “Darel rode very well, and I am very proud of him. We brought him here for experience, and he was able to hold his own against some of the better cyclists. We need to keep encouraging and motivating the youths, because they are the future of Caribbean Cycling. I want to congratulate Sailor and St. Vincent for putting on a great race!!”

The 5 men the broke away and decided the OECS Championships. Marlon, Danny, Tyron, Ronnie, and OESC Champion Chris.

OECS Results

1. Chris Ghiorse, BVI 3 hours, 28 seconds; 2. Tryon Thomas, Grenada 3’00.29; 3. Ronnie Bryan, Anguilla 3’00.39; 4. Danny Donelan, Grenada 3’02.52; 5. Marlon Antrobus, SVG 3’02.52; 6. Charles Bryan, Anguilla 3’08.10; 7. Lyn Murray, Antigua 3’08.54; 8. Danny Laud, Anguilla 3’08.56; 9. Robert Marsh, Antigua 3’08.57; 10.Travis Richardson, Anguilla 3’09.01; 11. Reggie Douglas, St. Kitts 3’09.02; 12. Patrick Peters, Antigua 3’09.03; 13. Winston Williams, St. Lucia 3’09.58; 14. Ken Jackson, Antigua 3’17.57; 15. Keith Jones, St. Kitts 3’22.52; 16. Orano Andrews, SVG 3’24.18; 17. Troy Felix, Grenada 3’24.46; 18. Debtor Culzac, SVG 3’26.49; 19. James Weeks, St. Kitts 3’30.35; 20. Dwight Sergeant, SVG 3’32.06; 21. Eustace Dookie, St. Lucia 3’34.19; 22. Jack Scorpion, St. Kitts 3’48.59; 23. Royston Stevens, St. Kitts 3’48.59

Break up the road, peloton chasing.

Cyclists before the start of the 2nd annual OECS Cycling Championships.

Chirs with 2nd place finisher Tyron Thomas, and 3rd place finisher Anguilla's Ronnie Bryan.

The 5 man lead group going down into Coloniare Bay.

© Copyright 2003 BVI Cycling Federation

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