By Neto Baptiste
Cyclists across Antigua are gearing up for their first competitive race in a month as the Antigua and Barbuda Cycling Federation (ABCF) prepares for the Robert Peters 2 Stage Race slated for August 21.
President of the federation, St Clair Williams, reminded that the sport took a scheduled hiatus immediately following the National Championships at the end of June and believes cyclists are hungry for competition.
“I expect the level of competition to be where it was pre the Commonwealth and also pre the break because we’ve now had about a month off the bike. We are hoping that all the cyclists that were here in Antigua continued to train and keep fit, so I am looking forward to a good turnout for this upcoming race. It’s one of our signature races on the calendar and one of the veterans of cycling in Antigua’s name is tagged on it, Robert Peters,” he said.
Williams, who recently returned from Birmingham, England, as part of the country’s team to the 2022 Commonwealth Games, explained how the two-part event will work on Sunday.
“In the morning we have a time trial starting from Hideout and goes to Shirley Heights and that will be the first stage which is a time trial. Then, in the afternoon, we move on to the Pan Am Base where we will have, at the elite level, 25 laps around the Pan Am Base. In the Masters, we have 20 laps with the Elite Females, and Sports Class will do 15 along with the Cadets 14-17 age category, and then we have five laps for the Cadets under that age group; so it’s going to be an interesting race,” he said.
The first stage of the race, the Individual Time Trial, will see the first cyclist pedal off at 7am while the second stage, a criterion, will be held at the old Pam Am Base starting at 3pm.
Registration for the event will open at 5:45am and close one hour later at 6:45am on the day of the race.