Darel Christopher Jr. stays in the pack to place fifth.

Antigua's Jyme Bridges wins the Sir Francis Drake Highway Challenge.

Winners in the Sir Francis Drake Highway Challenge

Though they were hoping for a team sweep, the Antigua team, nevertheless, took the podium spots in the Sir Francis Drake Highway Challenge held last Sunday.
The 62.8 mile race, which circled the western side of Tortola, saw Antigua’s number 2 cyclist 20-year-old Jyme Bridges claiming easy victory in 2 hours, 54 minutes and 44 seconds, six minutes away from his team mate and second place finisher, Neil Lloyd.
Lloyd, along with a large pack of elite riders stayed together through the four lap race, with the race coming down to a sprint finish, which had to be determined by a video, due to the riders finishing seconds of each other.
In the end, Lloyd was second, followed by his team mate Omari King in third. St. Croix’s Juancito Gario broke the Antiguans flow by coming in fourth, while the BVI’s Darel Christopher Jr. took the fifth spot.
Antigua’s Cosmos Richardson came in sixth, followed by Orano Andrews, Andrew Thompson, Mat Crossman, Cumber Greavx (USVI) and Antony Spencer.
In the women’s division, Sally Blackmore completed her two-lap course in 1 hour 37 minutes and 33 seconds. Kay Reddy followed in second place in a time of 1 hour 41 minutes with Olympia Fahie in third place in 1 hour 48 minutes and 15 seconds.
For the first time, four young junior cyclists made their debut in the BVICF races. Shaquille Samuel completed his one lap course in 1 hour 2 minutes and 53 seconds in a sprint finish ahead of his colleague, Nevron Anderson, who came in one second later. In third place was Orlando Savory in 1 hour 3 minutes and 51 second, with his teammate, Justin Solomon, following on his heels.
The Fun Novice Division was dominated by Hoof Hearted who won in 1:28:42. He was followed by Gordon Hackstaff in second place in 1:42:00 and Clifton Forbes in third in 1:54:1.
In the Masters Category, Adrian Dale, rode in 1:40:00, followed by Rusty Burns in 1:48:15 and Jim Cullimore in 2:10:51.
Speaking to the media after the race, Jyme Bridges said although he was expecting to win the Antigua team was hoping to get away with taking the top four spots. He mentioned the flat tyre that one of his teammates got which resulted in a sixth place finish.
Bridges, who was part of the big pack when the race started, said he was pushed to pull away by himself after Darel Christopher Jr. broke away. This was out of his comfort zone so he pulled away from the pack and ended up overtaking Christopher Jr., and maintained his lead through the rest of the race.
“I feel great and honored to be here and I was actually hoping to win by more minutes,” said the young rider who is a force to reckon with in the Caribbean.
At the end of the races, an award ceremony was held where the top riders in the main divisions were awarded prize money and medals.
The BVICF also held raffle draw for five prizes after the races. The top prize (trip for two to Puerto Rico) was copped by Trevor Liburd of Road Town Wholesale. Kevon Smith of Long Look won the second prize; Carmen Nelson, third; Kyle Samuel, fourth; and Leroy Thomas, fifth.
The BVICF would like to thank its sponsors, Road Town Wholesale, our platinum sponsor, Last Stop Sports and Supa Value.
The Federation also expresses thanks to Ms. De Castro for the use of her parking area during the races and apologizes for not seeking prior approval.
President of the BVICF Darel Christopher Sr., further thanked the Minister and the Ministry of Communication and Works for granting approval for traffic diversions and especially thanks Skelly Gumbs (Traffic Department) for assisting with traffic diversion.
He also thanked the many volunteers including the Leo Club of Tortola, Emily, Keron Vanterpool, Leroy Thomas and our Past President, David Thomas.
“Your presence has been important to help execute our race effectively,” said President Christopher.
“We thank all our cyclists, including our overseas and local riders who participated for making this event what it was and look forward to their continued support in future races,” said the cycling President.

Full Results

Elite
1. Jyme Bridges (ANT) 2:54:44
2. Neil Lloyd (ANT) 3:2:10
3. Omari King (ANT) 3:2:10
4. Juancito Garrio (USVI) 3:2:10
5. Darel Christopher 3:2:10
6. Cosmos Richardson (ANT) 3:2:11
7. Orano Andrews (St. Vincent) 3:2:12
8. Andrew Thompson 3:2:13
9. Matt Crossman 3:2:14
10. Cumber Greavx (USVI) 3:2:15
11. Antony Spencer 3:2:16
12. Antonio Andrews 3:26:21
13. Carlos Patrick (St. Marten) 3:30:23

Ladies
1. Sally Blackmore 1:37:33
2. Kay Reddy 1:41:00
3. Olympia Fahie 1:48:15
4. Petra Stewart 1:54:00
5. Gaylin Vogel NDF

Junior
1. Shaquil Samuel 1:2:53
2. Nevron Anderson 1:2:54
3. Orlando Savory 1:3:51
4. Justin Solomon 1:3:51

Fun Novice
1. Hoof Hearted 1:28:42
2. Gordon Hackstaff 1:42:00
3. Clifton Forbes 1:54:1
4. Peter Poole 1:54:2
5. Michael Faye 2:10:3
6. Rovin Craigen DNF

Masters
1. Adrian Dale 1:40:00
2. Rusty Burns 1:48:15
3. Jim Cullimore 2:10:51
4. Sam Tucker DNF
5. Collin Corea DNF

© Copyright 2003 BVI Cycling Federation

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