The dynamic duo better known as Kurt and Kirk Maraj (twins), continued their dominance in local cycling by finishing first and second in a recent 36 mile event from Castries to Bexon then to Pigeon Point and back to Castries.
For The St Lucia Cycling Association (SLCA) it was their fourth cycling event on their 2012 calendar. This road race sponsored by Merchandising Plus, Surveying Solutions and Miguel Joseph started at 8:00 am.
A field of 20 road racers were in attendance with a large representation from the Project Breakaway team with other teams present being the Excellers team from La Clery and riders from Mon Repos. This was pleasing to see the resurgence of teams in the sport of cycling and the expectation is for many more to exist by the end of the year.
The race saw the elite riders bunch of Kurt and Kirk Maraj, Winston Williams, Gillan Moses, Fidel Esnard, Chandoy Moses, Elvis Joseph and Jordan Richards take an early breakaway at the start of the Millennium highway.
The overall race was won by Kurt Maraj with a time of 1 hour and 38 minutes with an average speed of 22 mph, after an individual breakaway with no response from the lead group. Kurt Maraj also claims the senior prize for first place with his twin brother Kirk coming in second place. Williams placed third followed by Gillan Moses in fourth place.
Gillan Moses the up and coming highly talented junior cyclist, claimed first place in the junior division with a time of 1 hour and 43 minutes with an average speed of 21 mph. He showed his ability to ride with the big guns and stay in contact with the three man lead group to the end of the race.
He finished ahead of his cousin Chandoy Moses who followed up in second place with Andrew Norbert getting on the podium in third place juniors.
In the Masters class, SLCA President, Cyril Mangal clinched the first place trophy with a time of 1 hour and 57 minutes at an average speed of 18.5 mph ahead of veteran
cyclists, Raymond Volney, the founder of the Gros Islet Cycling Club in second place and Ross Stevenson in third place.
The lone female cyclist, Olivia Descartes of Mon Repos unfortunately did not finish the grueling race but showed determination by completing most of the race course.
The next event planned is the National Championship which is scheduled for June 24, will have the attendance of both the locally based elites and some foreign based national cyclists. Sydney Charles, the OECS champion of 2009 and New York based cyclist is expected to race along with Fidel Mangal, who after his training stint in Cuba is ready for a major battle against the reigning national champion Kurt Maraj.
Both Charles and Fidel Mangal have been doing intensive training in distance riding. Charles has attained top 10 finishes in United States based races while Fidel Mangal has shown steady improvement in strength and conditioning according to his Cuban coaches.
Not to be overlooked are other major contenders including Richards, Williams and Kirk Maraj who are up to the task of securing the National Championship. Gillan Moses, Chandoy Moses, Andrew Norbert and
Neal Reno are the major names expected to be competing for the junior champion title.
This next event is a highlight of the cycling calendar with great expectations from the local and foreign based cyclists-definitely a race to put on your sports entertainment schedule on June 24.
