September 24/02 7:17 am - Report From Bermuda

Posted by Editor on 09/24/02
 

Report From Bermuda

Amy Jarvis (Team RONA), who won the Tour of Bermuda, was kind enough to send us a report.

What a great way to end the season, in beautiful, sunny Bermuda. The Bermuda Bicycle Association is very supportive of cycling and development in Bermuda. Along with the support of local businesses, they sponsored many international athletes to travel and race at the Bermuda Grand Prix, September 19 - 22. Men's teams Sympatico, St. Catharines C.C, GearsRacing, Colnago, and VW represented Canada. On the women's side, there was just Chloe Black and myself. We were both the only riders for our respective trade teams (Equipe Cycliste Rona and Terry), so we rode together at the race.

Thursday night was the big event for the community. There were big money primes on the line, and the downtown streets of Hamilton were filled with cheering fans. The course was technical as it was a nighttime crit, with a turnaround, a short steep uphill and a backside in the dark. Chloe and I were aggressive from the gun and took turns attacking off the front, collecting most of the primes in the process. In the end Chloe was caught with two and a half laps to go, when I countered and soloed for the win. In the men's race, it came down to a sprint finish, with an impressive finish by Tim Lefebvre coming in for second in a photo finish.

The rest of the weekend included a 5 km TT on Friday night, a 90 km road race Saturday, and a 40-minute crit on Sunday. I finished the TT in front, with Chloe finishing 4th. The road race had a number of intermediate sprints for time bonus, which made for some good racing in the field. Unfortunately I lost my teammate, as Chloe had a flat, and there was no neutral support, but I managed to hang on to the leader's jersey, finishing 2nd. In the final crit our plan was to hold on to the jersey, and hopefully go for the win at the end of the race. Everything with smoothly with Chloe getting off the front in the last lap to come away with the win.

On the men's side, there were a lot of top teams represented, and the racing was fast and aggressive. In the road race, Andrew Pinfold managed to make the break including George Hincapie, and 2 Mercury riders despite having just travelled from Japan where he was racing with the National Team. Apart from the bike racing, the boys also set up their own unofficial hill sprints on the rented scooters. I'm not sure who won that race. The dinner and awards ceremony on Sunday night was incredible. A huge meal set up on the beaches in Bermuda, followed by music, dancing and a party hosted by Bacardi. The organization was superb with generous host housing, and very supportive locals. A great race to add to your calendar for next year!