Young Cyclists To Compete In Caribbean Championships

Three national youth cyclists will represent Antigua and Barbuda at the Caribbean Junior Cycling Championships slated for  November 3-6 in Barbados.
Emmanuel Gayral will compete in the Juniors with riders aged 17-18 years while Renee Gayral and David Simmons will both compete in the Cadets division with cyclists in the 14-16 age category.
Public Relations Officer for the Antigua and Barbuda Cycling Association (ABCA) Derrick Sutherland said the team is slated to arrive in Barbados on November 3 when they will immediately hit the roads in hopes of familiarising themselves with the terrain.
“As we arrive they will be straight on the road so they could get a feel for the course they are going to be riding. We only have one rider who is going to be doing the time trial which will be Emmanuel Gayral so the other two riders will actually have time to go out, get a feel of the course so that on the 5th they are ready to do the main race,” he said.
The ABCA member is hoping that the athletes will be able to put into practice what they have learnt in training here, signalling the approach will be that of a team effort rather than individual efforts.
“We’re trying to make it more into a team sport because if you follow cycling outside of the Caribbean or outside of Antigua, you will find that in each team, there is one person that everybody will protect to take that person to the finish line. At present we don’t have the depth of riders so we do the training as if we are ready to Continued on page 22
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do this right now because our vision isn’t just what we are going to be doing this year and next year but what we are looking at is what is the future going to look like,” Sutherland said.
The team will be coached by veteran cyclist Ira Fabian who will be accompanied by UK-based coach, Tony Gibbs, who has been commissioned by the ABCA to run a junior programme here.
“We have a programme where we have a coach from the UK come over and he helps to coach our junior riders. As part of that programme, we recognise that we need somebody locally to help and support the coach we have in the UK and Ira Fabian was the one chosen for that role,” the PRO said. 
“Because of the relationship he already has with all of the junior riders, last year he went with them to St. Lucia. We felt let’s keep the continuity and allow him to continue the training with the juniors and also to accompany them to Barbados this year,” he added.
The riders will race on November 4 and 5 before returning home on November 6.