ST. CROIX ANGEL ENCARNACION INVITATIONAL RACE, HELD SUNDAY 22ND AUGUST - ROBERT MARSH WON
Tuesday 31st August 2010
St Croix Cycling Association - We had a great race on Sunday inspite of the intermittent rains. Forty- one cyclists came out to the Angel Encarnacion Invitational Race including 7 cyclists from Tortola and Antigua.
The elite group had to cycle a grueling 12 laps for a total of 54 miles. Even though the day started with a cool overcast and showers by lap 5, the course started to heat up. The last laps were certainly tougher on the body than the first half of the race. The majority of the elite group were able to stay together for the first 4 laps, but by lap 5 the race was dominated by Antiguan Robert Marsh. He cycled the following 7 laps like a time trial, working alone. He finished first with a time of 2:29 - 8 minutes of rest of the group. Darel Christopher of Tortola out sprinted Antiguans Ken Jackson and Neil Lloyd for second place with a time of 2:37 Antiguan Neil Lloyd took third. Prize money was awarded to the top five places. Antiguan Ken Jackson and Virgin Islander Tim Smith took 4th and 5th place respectively. There were 15 elite cyclists but only 7 finished. Early showers which brought debris on the roads caused multiple flats for all groups. The impending heat and humidity also contributed to cyclists attrition.
Sprint premiums were also given to the elite group for crossing the start/finish line first on laps 1-5.
They were awarded to:
Lap 1 - Darel Christopher (Tortola)
Lap 2 - Robert Marsh (Antigua)
Lap 3 - Neil Lloyd (Antigua)
Lap 4 - Robert Marsh
Lap 5- Robert Marsh
The Expert also had a exciting race. They cycled 7 laps. At the end, 15 year old Apolinar Acevedo, Jr was able to out sprint Brad Chafee and Troy Holloway. Their time was 1:33
The Sport group had 14 cyclist today. The group cycled 4 laps. Also in a close finish, Joseph Thomas finished first with a time of 53:45. Patti Haase and Steffon Alleyne finished second and third. Their time was 53:50 and 53:52 respectively.
Sissel Holloway was the sole female in the Women's division and Gary Jett and Peter Dutie cycled in the Masters group.
The Antigua and Barbuda cycling team will like to thank the following that made the trip possible: LIAT Airline, F&G Trading and Matthew Auto Parts.
