Bermuda Cyclists Race In Burlington, Vermont
Five of Bermuda’s cyclists concluded the fourth and final day of the 2016 Green Mountain Stage Race in Burlington, Vermont.
Dominique Mayho, Deshi Smith, Kaden Hopkins, Matthew Oliveira and Alyssa Rowse all finished the grueling competition today at the Dealer.com Burlington Criterium, bringing to a close over 6 hours of racing during the four days which started on Friday with a 5.7 mile time trial in Warren, Vermont.
Saturday was a circuit race based at the Addison County fair grounds and Sunday’s road race of 65 miles included three Vermont major climbs, finishing atop Appalachian Gap where the final sections of the road approached 20%.
Racing in the Pro,1 category, Dominique Mayho returned to an event which he had raced the year earlier, clearly better prepared to race among some of the top US professional racers. Today’s criterium was his best performance where he comfortably finished in the field during the 50 lap race in 26th place and giving him a GC place of 48th out of 96 starters.
Yesterday’s racing for the Bermuda contingent started with Alyssa Rowse competing in the Women 3,4 category. The Bicycle Works rider had already made her presence known in the competition by grabbing points in the Queen of the Mountain and Sprint competitions in prior stages.
From the start Rowse raced aggressively, putting the rest of the field on the defensive. Pushing the pace for each of the sprint bonuses which occurred every five laps, Rowse was the main instigator of a split in the field by attacking right after a sprint lap.
With the lead group reduced to just three, one of which was the GC leader, Rowse was bested by the overall winner but was rewarded for he aggressive racing as she picked up enough time bonuses and sprint points to end the weekend with second place on General Classification, second in the sprint competition, and second in the QOM competition as well as prize money.
Kaden Hopkins and Matthew Oliveira raced in what is considered to be one of the best Junior fields in a USA race and both turned in solid performances. Given the depth of talent in the field they were focussed on getting the most out of the weekend of racing.
And there was no lack of learning moments for the Bermudian pair. With more climbing and high speed descending than they would ever see at home, both performed well as novices at this level of racing with the two finishing 15th and 24th respectively.
BBA President Peter Dunne travelled with the team and was delighted with the performances of all of the cycling federation’s athletes through the weekend.
He said, “We are fortunate that we were able to create this overseas racing opportunity for three of our junior riders and to include Dominique and Deshi in the travel plans. For Alyssa, Kaden and Matt the BBA wanted to give them a chance to race in a big event like this to increase their racing experiences and continue their development.
“Participation in this event was part of Matt’s Junior Athlete Sponsorship Award and Alyssa and Kaden were funded out of the strong support we have received from the Government through the Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation. By including Deshi, who is 21, and Dominique, almost 24, we are able to give out teens visible examples of what can be done in cycling at slightly older ages.
“For me personally it is exciting to see the trio of 16 year-olds making their start in international competition and then watch Dom at the highest level. Since he started as a cyclist at the age of 16 it is a thrill to see how far he has come over the years.”
