Cycling: Winners Edge Road Race Results

[Written by Greg Hopkins] Cyclist Dominique Mayho may have called an end to his international aspirations at the end of last year, but on Sunday morning in the Winners Edge Road Race he clearly showed that he is still the man to beat on local roads after outsprinting Hot Tubes rider Matthew Oliviera in the A category race, in the Bermuda Bicycle Associations season opener.

In tough windy conditions the race started and finished on Kindley Field Road and took the riders west on North Shore Road to Barkers Hill roundabout and back for three punishing laps for a total of 46 miles.

It was not long before the attacks started with Mayho’s VT Construction team mate Steve Smith testing the riders first. He was quickly countered though by Winners Edge rider Mark Hatherley on Blue Hole Hill who jumped away, battling the headwind and getting a gap on the field. He was caught by the Aquarium and then the pace settled until the riders had turned at Barkers Hill and were on their way back east.

As they approached Flatts another Winners Edge rider Kaden Hopkins attacked and quickly opened up a huge gap. The rest of the riders were in a tight group with none of Hopkins team mates assisting with the chase, as he continued back to Kindley Field to the turn at Double Dip roundabout and starting the second of three laps.

As the chase group got to Blue Hole Hill, Oliviera picked up the pace that could only be matched by Mayho. The two worked together in the strong headwind and eventually reeled Hopkins in at Dub City, with Oliviera attacking immediately, pulling away with Mayho covering his move. Paying for his effort of his long breakaway, Hopkins could not respond as the two riders worked tirelessly together to extent their lead.

It soon became clear that the winner would come from these two as they built up an insurmountable lead. Hopkins was joined by team mates Darren Glasford and Nicholas Narraway, but with the two leaders forming a temporary allegiance they would be racing for third place.

The last time on the Causeway Oliviera attacked Mayho but in the strong tailwind the experience of Mayho played a part as he jumped on the younger rider’s wheel and sat in his draft until the finishing line came into site, when he made his move and powered to the front taking a well-deserved victory. Hopkins still riding strongly had separated himself from his team mates and came across the line third.

The biggest field of the day was the B category, with 27 riders on the start line for their 35 mile race. There were a number of attacks on the first lap which were quickly shut down. Two Team Tokio riders led by Fabian Schonenburg attacked on Crawl Hill but were reeled in.

The next significant move came from Winners Edge rider Kevin Topple who broke away at Flatts going west, around the turn at Barkers Hill and staying away until he was caught at Shelley bay. Independent rider Stephen Paynter countered and was joined by Winners Edge rider Simon Hanrahan the two staying off the front until the pack pulled them back on Kindly Field Road after the turnaround at Double Dip roundabout.

With the pack back together in the headwind it was the final climb up Blue Hole Hill when riders started jockeying for position. After the turn at Swizzle Inn a close fought battle began with Garth Fleming, Peter Crayford of Team Tokio and Bicycle Works riders McQuinn Burch and Clifford Roberts, Winners Edge riders Zonique Williams, Otis Ingham and Hanrahan all jostling near the front. In the final sprint Hanrahan powered into the lead and took the win over Fleming and Roberts.

In the C category race of 24 miles it was not long before riders started to try and break the 23 rider field up in a very animated race. Independent rider Rhys Pearce appeared most keen to separate the pack as he was seen in every move on the first lap. Clearly riders recognized the Pearce was a big threat and so started attacking him, but he was up to the challenge.

As the riders approached the start finish line to begin their last two small laps, there was suddenly a crash that affected over half of the riders with Paul Claude and former three time May 24th Road Race winner Wayne Scott both going down extremely hard, both later being taken to hospital by ambulance.

In front of the crash Winners Edge rider Jermaine Postlethwaite, opened up a lead which he held into the last lap until Tokio rider Mark Booth and Independent Donald Musson led a chase down that saw him caught at Swizzle Inn roundabout. After taking a short time to recover, Postlethwaite again took the lead and drove the pace onto Kindley Field Road.

Pearce moved to the front clearly looking for the win but in the final stretches he appeared to start his sprint too early, and Postlehtwaite’s team mate Michael Thomas in a last ditched lunged past him to victory.

An impressive solo performance would define the women’s race. It was a good turn-out for the 24.8 mile race but it was not long after the start that the stage was set. Bicycle Works team mates Kaitlin Conyers and Jamie-Lee Wright joined forces less than two miles into the race when the pack reached the top of Blue Hole Hill on the first lap of their 24.8 mile race.

It was not long before the two of them were trading pulls, but as they reached Flatts, Conyers was clearly the stronger of the two and rode away for the rest of the race in a dominant display of individual riding. To her credit Wright also continued alone, to stay clear and take second place. Lindsay Palmer came in third.

In the Junior A race Blake Oliviera was in a class of his own, riding off from the start of the 13.5 mile race, finishing uncontested ahead of Manning Smith and Daniel Ringer. It was a totally different scenario in the Junior B, 4.5 mile race which would see Rory Fleming outsprint Gordon Smith by less than a second with Amber Gibbons third.

The full Winners Edge Bike Race Results follow below [PDF here]

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