Report From The Field: Hamilton Cycling Crit
[Report on the May 30th cycle race, written by Macio Talbot, a competitor in the race]
Wow what a race! Not only am I a racer (however new) I have become a huge fan as well. The people who managed to avoid the drunken debauchery that has become Saturday night in Bermuda (just kidding, not really) and brave the wee hours of the morning (8:00 a.m.) were treated to a fantastic race in the Male A Division.
The field was a bit smaller than in weeks past but the racing action was super intense. If you are reading this and you want to see the best racing in Bermuda (bar none) drag yourself out of bed and come and see a Hamilton crit. If the racing doesn’t get your pulse racing you are probably dead but don’t realize it yet.
Garth Thomson and Dominique Mayho put on a show of force that no one who witnessed it would soon forget. I feel I have to say that with Garth’s impending departure from the island and with the rise of Dominique Mayho as a serious contender (and now winner) cycling in Bermuda will be left in very promising (and capable) hands. At about the midpoint of the race Garth attacked and Dominique was the only one to match. It wasn’t long before they had gapped the field by nearly 20 seconds! To see Garth ride off like that some may be used to but Dominique is only 16 years old and to show that type of strength and stamina is mind blowing. When he is at his peak (like a decade and a half from now!) who is going to stop him?
The race those guys put on had to be seen. Get out there readers and support the races. You will not be disappointed!
The course itself, like I mentioned earlier, was as tough a competitor as anyone in the field. The start/finish line was located outside of the new HSBC Branch near the birdcage (I hope that you know where that is…) and the course headed towards Albouy’s Point and around the backside of HSBC’s main head offices where the traction and the road surfaces (a mixture of concrete, asphalt, manhole covers, bird crap and pistachio shells) nearly caused a few wipeouts. Ask Nicole Mitchell. How she didn’t “deck out” is beyond me. She should have went to church after the race and said a prayer of thanks.
From there the course took a right onto Front Street a left onto Queen Street over a perfectly placed speed bump onto Reid Street (opposite direction to traffic flow) and then a right (down!) Burnaby Hill. Coming off of that hill at thirty plus miles per hour on 22-23 millimeter wide tires while dressed in spandex can best be described as insane. The lean angle at the bottom was pretty steep as the whole world seemed to tilt off kilter. I’m sure if you are a racer and you are reading this you would agree on that point.
What made this race so tough was that the course did tend to sort every one into a single line. Passes were super difficult to make because you would have to power past someone on the outside or inside and then you set yourself up with a bad entry line going into the next turn which would then kill your momentum. I had someone yell at me to be careful during the race but believe me I was trying! Maybe if we wanted a safe and cozy sport we should have brought our clubs and tees and hit balls off of Albouy’s point into Hamilton Harbor because this type of racing was anything but!
I struggled to a thirteenth place finish but weirdly I was happy with my ride considering how tight my legs felt and I have to again congratulate my TMR (Tokio Millenium Re-Insurance) teammate Randy “Chicken” Burgess for snagging another win! Boys and girls he may be hard to stop! I also feel I need to mention Stephen “Spike” Tomlinson from Altree/Bicycle Works for his strong tenth place finish. He had told me on the 6:15 Saturday ride that I’d better mention him so there you go Spike my boy! Oh and by the way I was not being sarcastic about that tenth place finish! Look at the times in the “B” race and they will reveal to you just how tight the racing was. Go-carts, motocross, street bikes, power boats…you don’t have anything on us. Enough said on that matter.
Other strong rides in the “B’ were put on by points leader Dennis Joell, Mark Godfrey (kid is going to be good), Shannon Lawrence and Daren Dowling…let me stop there. ANYONE who lined up for the race was already a winner in my opinion (thanks Karen for that bit of advice).
The junior races were fun as well. Parents if you have a son or daughter that is keen on bicycles please do not hold them back. They could one day be a star so let them come out and ride because they are the future of our sport ok? Cool.
Before I finish up I want to say well done to Male A riders Chris Faria (Altree/Bicycle Works) for his second top three in a row as well and Darren “Shaky” Glasford (Winners Edge)for doing the same while narrowly edging out the ultra consistent Scott “put some shrimp on the barbie” Williams (Team Madison) who is still managing to hold on to the points lead despite a nagging back injury so well done boys…and l’d better not forget to thank Adam Harbutt (Team Madison) and fellow Cannondale rider for giving me some good mid-week advice! You finished well mate despite “hating” criterium racing!
In closing I would like to thank ED Jordan, his wife Sara (see you guys in the gym!) their daughter, George Leite and all the marshalls and volunteers who devoted their time to putting on a fantastic race! Well done you are class acts! Another thank you goes out to Jeff Amaral (Altree/Bicycle Works) for working closely with the Corporation of Hamilton to secure the race location…that is huge.
Editors note: For full results, video and photo gallery of this event click here.
GREAT commentary Macio!!! We Jordans are just so happy there were no “decks” and that the Team Tokio guys did well!