By Neto Baptiste
The husband and wife team of Jeffery and Venessa Kelsick emerged winners on the Elite Male and Female categories of the Antigua and Barbuda Cycling Federation (ABCF) 2021 Invitational Race held Sunday.
Jeffery, representing Team Terminix, clocked 2:41.08 seconds (two hours, 41 minutes and eight seconds) to complete the 55-mile event ahead of Terminix teammate, Conroy Thomas, who clocked 2:42.32. Veteran Robert Marsh of East Side Raiders finished third in a time of 2:42.54.
Ghere Coates (2:42.55) and Sean Weathered (2:48.59) were fourth and fifth respectively.
Meanwhile, Venessa made light work of her lone competitor in the Female category, registering a time of 3:14.20 to finish clear of Lindsay Duffy who crossed the line in 3:29.23. Reports indicate that this was the first time a husband and wife pair have captured the top classes in both the male and female category.
Long time competitor and former national cyclist Ira Fabian was best in the Masters Class, clocking 2:57.52 for the Road Runners Cycling Club. He finished ahead of Patrick Peters in 3:00.31 with Delvin Peters racking up a bronze medal finish with a time of 3:00.37.
Mervyn Gore of East Side Raiders and Neil Lloyd of N&R Wheelers rounds off the top five in the Masters category.
There was action in the Sports Class also with Abbiel Flemming of Road Runners finishing ahead of the pack in a time of 2:37.09. He was followed closely by teammates Joel Griffith and Jason Adams in second and third places, respectively. Griffith clocked 2:43.45 while Adams crossed the line in 2:44.36. Wendell Anthony and Omari King, both competing as independents, were fourth and fifth respectively.