Last Sunday morning, 10th July, the Queen Elizabeth Avenue was abuzz with excitement and expectation as cyclists got prepared for a winning place in the John T. Memorial Cycling meet. Eager fans were present to support their favourite racers, as riders from Antigua, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, St. Martin and host Anguilla revved up their energies to compete in the three-hour race.
Prior to the race, The Anguillian was on hand to speak with officials of the Anguilla Cycling Association as well as some of the riders. President of the Association, Sharon Richardson-Lowe said: “The John T. Race is back, after being restricted for the past two years, due to Covid.
“It is a rather scaled down race today, due to the existing Covid protocols. These prevented us from getting the kind of participation we desired. However, we are very grateful for those who journeyed from the neighbouring islands to take place in the race. Hopefully, we will be back next year, bigger and better.”
Anguillian Rider Zambezi Richardson told us: “We are going in today with a team strategy. This is our home race and some of us are already winners from previous races. It will look stupid if we do not get on that podium as winners. So as a team we will do our best to get winning positions.”
We also spoke to an Antiguan rider by the name of Tahje Browne. He said: “I feel like today is going to be a hard race, seeing the number of kilometers that we have to cover. But I feel that this race suits me. I am hoping for good results.”
Cailan Fleming, an Anguillian rider, said: “We have been preparing and practicing hard over the past months, and I feel good about this race. Anguilla has a good team of riders, and we are all here to do our best. We will start, perform well by God’s help and finish with victory.”
Another avid rider, Delroy Carty, was asked how he felt about the race. He replied: I feel good – a lot better than how I felt last year for the previous John T race. I will ride smart to stay in the race, and when I see an opportunity I will be determined to take it.”
Anguillian Champion Hasani Hennis said: “I hoping that everything goes good for the Anguilla team. I know what I have been doing, and I know what I am capable of. I am going in to win again, and if I don’t win, well, any Anguillian will do.”
The race shot off at 10:50 and some 35 riders faced the challenge of traversing the grueling route. The route comprised three (3) laps:
Lap 1: from The Queen Elizabeth Avenue, through Sandy Hill and Island Harbour, through Welches, down through the Queen Elizabeth Avenue, on to West End, then up to Sandy Ground. From there, the riders headed towards the Sandy Hill Roundabout, through the Mango Garden, down Deep Waters and towards to the Queen Elizabeth Avenue.
Lap 2: From the Queen Elizabeth Avenue, to West End, into Sandy Ground, up to Sand Hill, across the Mango Garden, and back to the Queen Elizabeth Avenue.
Lap 3: From the Queen Elizabeth Avenue, to Connor’s Care Rental in South Hill, over to blowing Point, up Jeremiah Gumbs Highway, to Sandy Hill, through the Mango Garden, and back to the starting point at the Queen Elizabeth Avenue.
Anguilla’s cyclist Zambezi Richardson emerged the Champion of the 2022 John T. Memorial Cycling Race, securing the top position ahead of Anguillian racer, Delroy Carty. In third place was Emmanuel Gayral of Antigua.
The Anguillian newspaper congratulates the winners, as well as the Anguilla Cycling Association for organising and executing a successful race.
