Local cycling is about to be put back under the light.
Literally.
Barbados will feature night-time road racing for the first time in history this weekend as a local group Friends of Cycling prepares to stage a multi-race event inside The Villages at Coverley on Saturday.
Event organiser David Matthews believes the novel initiative should reawaken interest in local cycling after he saw thousands of spectators turn out to watch a similar event in Trinidad recently.
“Right now there is no cycling going on in Barbados but this is what we the Friends of Cycling are about, cycling,” said Matthews, who revealed there have been just seven road races in Barbados this season.
“We don’t want to get into any politics, we just want to see cycling get back on track in Barbados and hopefully this should help do that because this is something different.
“I was just in Trinidad and had the privilege of watching Michael Phillips race down there in the night, and that went from like 6 p.m. to 11 and thousands were down there on the avenue in shops and bars. It was excellent,” he added.
Slated to start at 5 p.m., the event is expected to feature races for multiple categories including the junior divisions, masters, elite riders, mountain bikers and even triathletes.
And prize money will be at stake for several races, including the feature event which will be a 45-minute race going around the half–mile circuit on the outside of the business square at Coverley.
It’s not the first sporting event to be held at The Villages, with the community also staging the quarter-finals of the Monarchs of the Court road tennis tournament back in August.
“They have welcomed us with open arms as they have this whole idea of pushing the concept of community sports so they are looking to add other sporting events for different days,” said Matthews, who expects to hold another race at Coverley later this year.
“And they have also been great in terms of giving us a lot of other ideas.”
Registration is open on the day of the event at Coverley and closes around 4:45 p.m. (JM)
