Bicycle Association Award Recipients Announced
The Bermuda Bicycle Association held its annual awards presentation for the 2013 season, recognizing the athletes who finished at the top of the various national championship races, road race series, criterium series and time trial series. Additionally the BBA presented awards for the top senior and junior athletes as well as recognizing the contributions of a member.
Former BBA Racing Committee Chairman Martin Bolton hosted the evening and served as MC, keeping the crowed room entertained and focussed on the nature of the BBA which operates solely on the efforts of volunteers to run a busy annual racing schedule as well as administrating the active NSGB.
The BBA’s major annual prizes were presented by the asociation’s president, Peter Dunne who provided the following commentary on the athletes:
Most Improved Junior: Justin Ferreira – While Justin has been racing with BBA for many years now and always impressing, 2013 was a break though at the top of our local racing scene. He was frequently battleing it out at the front of the Male A group and, following his strong showing in Aruba where he was 5th in the boys road race, he returned to local competition with a renewed enthusiasm for attacking the race, inspiring a strong victory in the criterium championship in October.
Most Improved Rider: Zoenique Williams – Though still a relative newcomer to bike racing, Zoenique made a great leap this year and got the results to show it. She took the 2013 criterium championship with a great solo effort and then followed that up with a silver medal in the Caribbean Cycling Championship in Curacao.
Club Person of the Year: Anton Gilbert – Anton has put his heart into this sport in a most productive way, helping develop the interest in cycling in our youngest members. He has given countless hours to his troop of CrimeStoppers riders as well as many others who were looking for a chance to ride with contemporaries. Clearly Anton has helped to create a great camaraderie amongst this group riders and we would not be surprised to see them continue for many years due to Anton’s enthusiasm.
Junior Rider of the Year: Gabriella Arnold – Gabby is possibly the least heralded of our junior riders while achieving the most. At the recent mountain biking championship she won her 13th straight junior female championship title. In 2011, 2012, 2013 she won all four of the championship titles and she is working towards another dominating year. No rider, male or female, adult or junior has come close to this. In 2013 she also won the bronze medal in Aruba at the junior Caribbean Cycling Championship, adding to the 2 bronzes she won in Puerto Rico in 2011 and gold from Dominican Republic in 2012.
Female Rider of the Year: Nicole Mitchell – Adding two more medals to her Caribbean career tally, Nicole had a strong year in 2013. She took the road race title at the NatWest Island Games and team trophy with her teammate plus the bronze medals in Curacao. Added to those impressive results she won the Bermuda championship title in Time Trial.
Male Rider of the Year: Dominique Mayho – Locally there is no one who the peloton looks to before a race or during a race with the same degree of expectation. Dominique won the road race title and an impressive crit championship where he lapped the field. Probably his most impressive result was 8th place in the 2013 Tour of the Battenkill Cat 2 race. For those who have watched or competed in this event you will know just how hard it is to finish, let along contest a sprint after all those dirt roads!
The BBA’s road racing season begins this Sunday morning with a criterium around the ACE and XL on the edge of Hamilton. Organized by the Fast Forward Bicycle Works team, racing commences at 7:30AM and continues through the morning. Full details of the event and the complete 2014 BBA calendar can be found here
