February 14 2003
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BVI Cycling Federation season opens with Chris Ghiorse setting the pace BY DEAN GREENAWAY Chris Ghiorse separated himself from the rest of the field on the second of 15 laps in Sunday's BVI Cycling Federation 72 mile season opening race on the Dual Carriageway, which he used as a tune up for a triathlon in Nevis next weekend. Ghiorse lapped all of the 29 riders at least once and finished 16 minutes ahead of defending champion Phillippe Leroy, covering the in 3 hours, 18 minutes and 47 seconds. Ghiorse said he rode the first lap at a pace hoping to encourage the guys to ride the first half of the race together but no one seemed to be interested. "Maybe they were intimidated. I don't know what their ideas were," explained Ghiorse who went across the street from the Festival Village Site finis line and ran 13 laps (5 miles) of the A. O. Shirley Recreation Grounds 400 meter oval as part of his triathlon training. "I decided that maybe if I went off in front they would work together. Three guys working together is a lot more advantageous because of the wind we had today so I went on and rode at a pace, keeping my heart rate at 165-170 to see if they would come back on me, but, I noticed that on every lap, I was gaining 15-20 seconds on Phillippe." With exactly 12 days of training under his belt, Leroy was quite surprised that Ghiorse attacked from the second lap. "He left us all alone pushing as hard as we could," Leroy said. "Chris has been training for triathlons and this was perfect for him and with those aerodynamic wheels, he had an advantage. But, he would have won anyway. He's very strong." At the other end of the spectrum was Virgin Gorda's Joe Giacinto, at 62, the oldest rider in the field whose strategy was just to finish. "Unfortunately, I didn't prepare myself today and it really hurt," he noted. "Today I won my race, I finished and that's all I'm after, just to get across the line that's all. I keep telling the guys somebody has to be last and I got that position all locked up already and they don't have to worry." Then there was Roger Murray, in his first race on Tortola. He said he needs discipline, practice and preparation for a race of this magnitude in which he covered the full 48 miles required in the Mountain Bike division. "I was somewhat prepared. I've only been riding for two weeks now," Murray decked in a colorful outfit said. "This is a big accomplishment. At least I started and finished. That was my aim." Federation president David Thomas was happy with the 29 participants who entered the race. "I was really encouraged by the five youths that came out, rode and finish the course," Thomas said. "Right now, Ghiorse is obviously in a class by himself, but for Leroy who has only been training for 12 days, he rode very well. I thought it was a really good day and everybody had a good time." Both Thomas and Ghiorse commended the Police and motoring public for their good work. Final results, Road Bikes: (15 laps). 1. Chris Ghiorse, 3 hours, 18 minutes and 47 seconds. 2. Phillippe Leroy, 3:35.14. 3. Conrad Emmanuel, 3:40.47. 4. (12 laps), Peter LeBlanc, 3:10.00. 5. (10 laps), Steve Emmanuel, 2:40.13. 6. (8 laps) David Thomas, 2:15.06. 7. (5 laps).1. Ray Wearmouth, 1:13.50. Dnf. Neil Thomas. Jaron Maduro. Mountain Bikes: (10 laps) 1. Anthony Walters, 2:38.29. 2. Steve Marsh, 2:40.13. 3. Ruben Mongo, 2:53.18. 4. Jim Cullimore, 2:54.20. 5. Charles Peaker, 3:00.47. 6. Roger Murray, 3:36.16. 7. (9 laps) Joe Giacinto, 3:25.14. 8. (7 laps). Laurens Blok, 1:46.45. 9. (7 laps). Anghel George, 1:58.07. Fun/Novice: 1. Glenroy Forbes, 1:27.16. 2. Sam Tucker, 1:30.47. 3. Mark McKenzie, 1:30.54. 4. Tom Merrigan, 1:13.13. 5. Rick Connell, 34.26. 6. Jacqueline Wilson, 1:48.42. Youth: (4 laps). 1. Darel Christopher Jr., 1:27.42. 2. Lee Richardson, 1:27.47. 3. Nevin Sylvester, 1:46.59. 4. Khepia Sylvester, 1:48.36. 5. Olympia Fahie, 1:51.37
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