Byron Pope, Kaya Cattouse & Deezan Spence win annual Valentine's Day classic
Byron Pope of the Benny's Megabytes team wins elite race. |
Byron Pope of Benny's Megabytes team won the annual Valentine Day cycling Classic, while Kaya Cattouse of the C-Ray team won the women's race, Deezan Spence of D&E Cycling team won the junior race and Luigi Urbina of Team Typhoon from Orange Walk won the Masters's category.
Byron Pope completed the 80-mile ride from Leslie's Imports on the Western Highway to Ready Call at the Burrell Boom junction on the Northern Highway, returning to Hattieville and on to La Democracia before returning to the finish line in Belize City in three hours 20 minutes and 23 seconds to win the $150 first prize, a trophy and a Digicell package.
Eduardo Reyes of the D&D cycling team was immediately behind to take the $100 second prize, a medal and a $50 Digicell card. His teammates, Kyne Gentle and Richard Vera rode in 27 seconds later, with Gentle claiming the $75.00 third prize, a medal and a $50 Digicell card, while Vera picked up the $35.00 fourth prize.
Luigi Urbina of the C-Ray team finishd fifth in three hours 22 minutes and 11 seconds, winning the $25 fifth prize as well as a trophy and a Digicel package as the first masters.
Greg Lovell of Santinos Belize elite team was right behind to place sixth, while Mark Staine of the Benny's Megabytes took seventh place in three hours 26 minutes and one second. Quinton Hamilton of the Santino's team finished eighth in the same time and George Abraham Jr, immediately behind, took ninth place. Allen Castillo of Benny's Megabytes team rounded out the top 10 in three hours 27 minutes and five seconds.
Leroy Cassasola, Jairo Campos and Darnell Barrow took the next three positions with Cassasola finishing in three hours 28 minutes and 34 seconds, while Campos came in 10 seconds later, and Barrow finished in three hours 30 minutes and 31 seconds. Immediately behind him was Brandon Cattouse of the C-Ray team to finish 14th, Angel Tzib rode into 15th place, and Hernan Ochaeta of Santino's team was 16th.
Erwin Middleton of the Capital City team took 16th place 13 seconds later, while Philip Dawson of Truckers Posse was 17th in three hours 34 minutes and four seconds. Edgar Nissan Arana and Panamanian rider Christian McNish, both of the C-Ray team took 19th and 20th positions. Of the 42 riders who began the race, only 25 finished.
Kira Eiley of the C-Ray team was leading the 50-mile women's race as they approached the city with Shalini Zabaneh of the Sagitun team hard on her wheel and Eiley's teammate Kaya Cattouse trailing behind. But Kaya Cattouse won the sprint to the finish line, clocking in three hours 10 minutes and 49 seconds, to win the Digicel package first prize and a trophy, while Eiley took the $50 second prize and a medal. National road champion Shalini Zabaneh won the $25.00 third prize and a medal. Shalini's teammate Maricela Garcia rode into fourth place in three hours 42 minutes and 30 seconds.
Deezan Spence of the D&D cycling team out-sprinted Juan Umana of Cayo High Road team and Reese Cattouse of the C-Ray team at the finish to win the 50-mile junior race from Leslie's Imports to the Burrell Boom junction and back in two hours 21 minutes and 48 seconds, claiming a trophy and a Digicel package. Umana and Cattouse got medals for second and third place.
Ernest Meighan of Santino's Master team finished fourth but was first in the over 35 masters' category, while Zahir Figueroa of Cayo Uprising finished fifth. Brandon Morgan of the C-ray team took sixth place in the same time.
Oscar Quiros of Cayo Uprising was seventh in two hours 22 minutes and 37 seconds. Giovanni Lovell of the Telemedia team was eighth in two hours 22 minutes and 44 seconds, with Aiden Juan of the Cayo High Road team taking ninth place in the same time.
Santino "Chief" Castillo rounded out the top 10 in two hours 21 minutes and 48 seconds to win first place in the over-45 Masters category, while his teammate Ernest Thurton was 11th overall, the second over-35 Masters to finish. Their teammate, James Frampton was 12th in the same time to be the third over-35 Masters, while Kenneth Butler of the M&M Engineering team was 13th overall, but second in the over-45 Masters' category. Of the 35 riders who began the race, 22 finished.
The Reporter