In celebration of V.I. Emancipation Day, the Virgin Islands Cycling Federation held a bike race on Sunday morning. The Buddhoe & Beyond Road Race started across from Buddhoe Park, Frederiksted.
Since there were only two riders in the Elite field, Stephen Swanton and his wife, Robin Seila, were given the chance to shorten the distance of their race. They thought “bigger” and confirmed that they wanted to take on the challenge of the original Elite distance of 45 miles. Swanton and Seila rode together until the 9th lap of the 10-lap race. Swanton increased his pace and finished the race about 4.5 minutes ahead of Seila in a time of 2:12:50, according to the press release.
Elite Class (Photo courtesy Virgin Islands Cycling Federation)
The Expert race had a surprise participant who was on St. Croix for one of his favorite races. Juancito Gario used to be a regular at past VICF races, and he added a bit of excitement to the mix. It was a close finish for the top four finishers in the 27-mile race, ending with Gario in first place, followed by Jerry Remie, Joey Swanson and Miguel Cruz, respectively, the press release stated.
Expert Class (Photo courtesy Virgin Islands Cycling Federation)
The Sport category took on the loop course four times. The group stayed together until the final lap of the 18-mile race when Xander Morales, 13, pushed the pace to easily capture first place in a time of 57:23. Guy Augustin was second in 57:56 and Joseph Thomas was third, the release stated.
Sport Class (Photo courtesy Virgin Islands Cycling Federation)
The Masters division also completed 18 miles, with the top two cyclists sprinting to the line in a good race. Brian O’Reilly grabbed the gold at 1:06:25; Norman Smith was second at 1:06:28, and James Matthew was third, it said.
The most exciting race was the Junior race. KoleBert Daisley, 13, and Logan Keys, 14, worked together for the three-lap race, and it ended with KoleBert crossing the finish line first in a time of 45:44. Keys finished in a solid second place in 45:51. Daniel Remie, 12, pushed the pace with Randy Williams, 14, by his side in the 13.5-mile race. Remie succeeded in outsprinting Williams in the final stretch to secure third place, according to the release.
From left, Randy Williams, Kenji Nieves, Logan Keys, KoleBert Daisley, Daniels Remie, Xander Morales (Photo courtesy Virgin Islands Cycling Federation)
In the Women’s division, Jody Goodrich won the 18-mile race at 1:05:45. Annelia Graham, age 18, was second, and Myrtle Emmanuel was third, it said.
The next race is the M2M Individual Time Trial on Sunday, July 21, at 7 a.m. The 9-mile race starts at the Welco Service Station in Gallow’s Bay and finishes on Rt 624, on St Croix’s south side.
