White And Hopkins To Challenge For Gold
[Written by Stephen Wright]
Conor White is ready for a head-to-head showdown with team-mate Kaden Hopkins for the time-trial title in the elite men’s race at the Caribbean Road Cycling Championships in Guadeloupe.
White is confident of a Bermudian one-two in the time-trial on Saturday [October 14] and hopes to challenge Hopkins, the defending champion, for the gold medal.
A former under-23 time-trial champion, White was on course to finish second behind Hopkins last year in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic, but suffered a flat tyre and had to settle for seventh.
“Kaden and I have shown time-trials are our specialty,” White told Bernews. “Barring any mechanical issues, we have a good chance of finishing first and second.
“It’s healthy competition between us. Racing against each other growing up has made us faster.
“We’re two of the top guys in the region, and even within the Pan American region, with Kaden finishing third at the Pan Am Championships [in Panama in April] and me sixth.”
The 23-year-old also believes the pair can challenge for top honours in the road race on Sunday, with the course expected to suit their strengths more than last year’s in Santo Domingo, where White finished ninth.
“The past few years in Santo Domingo, it’s been a flat hot-dog course, really boring, and easy to sit in,” he said.
“This course in Guadeloupe is quite steep and has sharp climbs, which make it harder for anyone to hang on.
“We’ll have one of the strongest squads [with Liam Flannery and Nicholas Narraway]. All four of us are racing overseas and getting decent results.
“We’ll make a plan, and hopefully, if we execute it, we can podium or even win.”
It has been a memorable season for White, claiming bronze in the time-time at the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador, El Salvador, in July.
He has also impressed riding for his United States team, the Austin Aviators, winning the general classification at the Valley of Sun Stage Race in Arizona in February.
With the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, later this month, White hopes to end the year with another strong display.
“It’s been a long season with more than 60 races in seven different countries,” he added.
“The Caribbean Championships should be a good test for the Pan Ams. To win a medal in Chile would be insane! It would be great if Kaden and I could both medal. It will be a small but strong field.”
