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International News
Thomas makes his sport’s debut in the 20th Central American and Caribbean Games this morning, when the time trial begins on the course in Barranquilla, one of three venues around Colombia where the games are being held. Cycling joins Squash—which opened the game last Sunday—and Tennis which begins on Sunday, as the BVI’s debut sports in the games in which they have participated since 1982. Thomas, who competed at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia in March, said his aim is to better the time on one hour, three minutes, 33.99 seconds he had there and then follow up with by competing in Saturday’s 154 KM road race. “It will be a new experience doing both events and I’m just going out there to do my best and see what I can achieve,” said Thomas who spent the last two weeks preparing at the Olympic Training Center in Salinas, Puerto Rico. “My preparations in Puerto Rico went really well. I accomplished what I went to do—train twice a day, short and hard. I did a couple of races where I just sat in and went along. Mentally and physically, I’m a lot more prepared for these games than the one in Australia.” Thomas said he’s aiming to get under an hour, but all that will be determined by the course conditions, before adjusting his prediction. He spent yesterday familiarizing himself on the rolling hills, of the route. Coach Chris Ghiorse described Puerto Rico as one of the best locations in the Caribbean available to do some quality training. Thomas was joined by Nevis’ Reggie Douglas during the training period. “We did a lot of speed work to prepare Neil mostly for the time trial. The road race is really going to be a good experience for him because it will be a pro level race,” Ghiorse explained. “The riders from Colombia, Venezuela, Honduras and Mexico, they all ride and race in Europe, so the way the race will go down is fast from beginning to end. It’s never going to let up.” Ghiorse said the aim in the time trial is bettering his time, but unlike running on a track where 400 meters is 400 meters and it’s pretty much the same, every time trial course is different. “The end result is to see how Neil compares to competitors he rode against in the Commonwealth Games,” Ghiorse said. “When we finally step back and evaluate what he has done, we can say yes, he has improved because he has come this much closer or gone this much faster than a rider he rode against at in Commonwealth Games under similar situations.” © Copyright 2003 BVI Cycling Federation |
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