The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL cycling champion Jay Major Jr said Team Bahamas will be ready to take advantage of their home turf when the first Viva Cycling Bahamas International Invitational Championship is held this weekend.

Major Jr, along with Anthony ‘Biggie’ Colebrooke, Roy Colebrooke Jr and Deangelo Sturrup will carry the Bahamas flag against a team from the USA and Colombia in the under-23 division. Justin Minnis and Jave Russell will compete in the under-18. Chris Curry will join the field in the open category.

National time trial champion Liam Holowesko, however, won’t be competing as he is presently in Denmark.

The Risaltex, representing Colombia, will comprise of Camilo Amaya, Santiago Calle, Nestor Gomez and Julian Ortiz. The Hot Tubes from the USA will feature Jonny Brown, Jack Maddux, Ethan Reynolds, Gage Hecht and Michael Hernandez.

The three countries will square off this weekend starting with the six-mile individual time trials around Clifton Pier 8am Saturday and the Clifton Circuit race over 42 miles later in the day. The three-race series will conclude Sunday after the 68-mile Airport Circuit race begins at 7am.

“We have had some pretty strong training sessions together,” Major Jr said. “The team’s dynamics is downpacked and everybody is highly motivated for this race and everybody is looking forward to it.”

The home court will be critical for Team Bahamas, according to Major Jr.

“It puts more pressure on us to perform, but the team is looking very strong, so I think we have a very good chance of winning it all or at least coming on the podium,” Major Jr said.

Having a chance to compete against some of the riders from the USA gives Major Jr a clear view of how to get the Bahamian team ready to compete. But he noted that he has never seen or competed against any of the Colombians, which will bring an element of surprise to the competition.

Sturrup, who has travelled with Major Jr to compete on the international scene in the past, said his expectations are very high.

“We train the route a couple times a week, so it’s basically a training route, the route for the open, the under-23, the time trials. We basically live on these routes,” Sturrup said.

“So we have the home court turf 100 per cent. We just have to keep our team tactics together. We are very, very strong, so the outcome should be good. We should get the podium.”

Unable to compete with the younger competitors on the first two days of competition, Curry said he’s looking forward to joining them in the open race on Sunday and hopefully help to pull the Bahamas to the finish line.

“We’re on our home turf, so there’s no excuses or explanations, we’re home,” Curry stated. “We have the advantage and we have to put out what we should. So that’s the plan.”

As the coach of the team, Barron ‘Turbo’ Musgrove said there’s no doubt that Team Bahamas will prevail.

“I feel very good. The cyclists have matured tremendously over the last several months from previous international events,” he said. “Their abilities have improved tremendously. We are home. This is our house. We intend to protect our house. We intend to show the Bahamian public, the sponsors that we are here to represent the country well.

“We have been training and we are looking forward to the challenge from the cyclists coming in. We intend to entertain them, treat them well, give them the Bahamian hospitality, but at the end of the day, we are keeping the yellow jerseys here.”

Musgrove, the president of the New Providence Cycling Association, said the team knows where “every pothole, every crack in the road is” and they will be ready to compete.

The visiting teams from the USA and Colombia are expected be in town on Thursday.