The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

There aren’t too many goals that Jay Major has set that he has not been able to achieve in cycling.

And his ultimate goal is to be able to represent the Bahamas at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

In preparation for that feat, Major continues to lead the pack on the local scene and he’s trying to make some inroads as he competes on the international scene.

Fresh off his victory in the New Providence Cycling Association’s Road Championships on Saturday, Major will prepare for the Bahamas Cycling Federation’s National Championship on Sunday, July 7, before he heads to Canada to compete in the 45th edition of the Tour de l’Abitibi Desjardins.

The event, scheduled to take place in Rouyn-Noranda July 15-23, is a stage cycle race contested in Abitibi-T�miscamingue, an area located in northwestern Qu�bec (Canada) and reserved to racers aged 17 and 18.

Last year, Major placed 55th out of a field of more than 150 competitors. “My main long-time goal is to qualify for the 2016 Olympics. That’s what I’m really training for right now,” Major said.

“I eventually want to turn pro, but right now, I want to qualify and place well in the Pan Am Games and the Commonwealth Games so that I can qualify for the Olympics.

“So these hard junior races and the senior races that I’m going to compete in will really help me to accomplish my long-time goal.”

Shawn Fox, one of Major’s mentors, said it’s a work in progress. “We have a three-year plan to get him ready,” Fox said. “It’s not just three months or six months. It has to be a plan that will sustain him for the rest of the leading up to the Olympics.”

Fox, who at one time during his career chartered a course that prepared him to compete in the Pan Am and CAC Games before he fell short of qualifying for the Olympics, said Major has the potential to enable cycling to join the other sports expected to represent the Bahamas in Brazil in 2016.

“We need to develop the sport as a junior programme, not one individual,” Fox said.

“We need a really good junior team so that we can really move the sport in a big way. We need to be able to send off a team because Jay needs the assistance from a team. He can’t be everywhere at all times. He can’t cover every break at all times. So he really needs a team, otherwise it will be very hard for him to qualify. “He can’t be that good or get to that level without a team. Without the team, it’s going to be a struggle for him. That is one of the reasons why we are trying to train him for anything is possible when he is competing. That’s basically what he has to do. It’s not going to be easy, but we feel he has a chance to qualify. We just hope that he can get as much exposure as he can competing in as many international meets as he can.”

So far, 18-year-old Major has been holding his own.