On April 16, 2022, Anguillian cyclist Hasani Hennis, won the 92nd annual Holy Saturday Cross Country Cycling Classic in Belize, capturing the gold medal and the coveted Cross Country Title.
Anguilla’s cyclist, Hasani Hennis and America’s cyclist, John Delong, seemed destined to finish the gruelling 140-mile race side by side as they remained within a short distance of each other throughout the race.
With just minutes away from the finish line, John retained a small but comfortable lead. However, moments before reaching the finish line, Hasani sprinted to the front to win the coveted first place garland.
Twenty-five-year-old Hasani Hennis approached the finish line, at the Digi Park on Newtown Barracks, at 11:54 am. He crossed the finish line in five hours, fifty minutes and twenty-eight seconds, just 2 seconds ahead of American cyclist, John Delong.
Hennis commented that the Belizean cyclists had matured over the years. “The Belizeans have come a long way. They are really strong. It is a long, tough race. In a hundred and thirty-five-K-race, they would do really great,” he noted.
Spectators lined the roadsides, cheering the 77 cyclists along the route. The fact that the first and second place finishers were not Belizeans was inconsequential. It was a fitting end to a very competitive race.
The first Holy Saturday Cross Country Cycling Classic started ninety-four years ago, on April 5, 1928, when a group of young men set out on an unprecedented expedition.
The race began at 5:00 am that day, with the young men pedalling from the courthouse wharf, through Orange Walk, and on to Cayo.
The first rider to reach Cayo, thirteen hours later, was a young man from Burrell Boom Village – Elston Kerr.
The young cyclists stayed through the Easter holidays, feasting, eating, playing cricket and enjoying their new-found fame.
Today, the Holy Saturday Cross Country Cycling Classic is a highlight of the Easter season in Belize, attracting the participation of international competitive cyclists.
