The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net Cycling enthusiasts can expect a strong Bahamian presence at the country's premier event in the sport. The 9th Annual Tour of the Bahamas, scheduled for this weekend (January 28-29), is expected to feature over 100 visiting athletes from various countries. But event organisers look forward to Bahamian riders turning in some inspiring performances. Event organiser John Cox said he expects the Bahamian contingent to do well in a number of categories ranging from the juniors to the category three/four division. "JAR has a team of cyclists and then there is also the national team. Tracey Sweeting...he has competed in this race at least six or seven times already. Jay Major participated as a junior and this year he is competing as a category three rider. He is an amazing rider and as the Caribbean Junior champion, he is one of these people that can average 30mph on his bike during the time trial which will be astonishing. He has received high results in the past. "Tracey has done well in the past. Mark Holowesko actually came second in the second stage in the category three/four last year so you have Bahamians being very competitive with these riders. Category two/three/four, Bahamians should be very competitive," he said. "We also have the juniors. Roy Colebrooke Jr has done very well and he will lead a group that will be participating as well so we look forward to that. Riding with 60-70 people is very different than riding with about 15 people. So we look forward to seeing the local strong performances." Hosted by the JAR Cycling Club, the Tour of the Bahamas features a three-mile individual time trial followed by a 42-mile circuit, seven laps of a six-mile course. On Saturday (January 28), there will be a 76-mile race while juniors will race a 30-mile course. Cox said the performances of local cyclists can serve as the catalyst to further development in the sport. "The number of local competitors has grown but not to the level that we see guys coming in from the outside because you have to be a part of a system where races like this take place fairly frequently. Most of these visitors compete in about 15 races of this calibre over the course of the year whereas our local riders, this is the big race of the year, then we have local races which are competitive but not nearly as competitive as these ones," he said. "The first thing we have to do is to get enthusiasts then they turn into more competitive people, then they want to race and formulate teams." Tim Munnings, director of sports, said that the sport is set to receive an overhaul to its infrastructure with the redevelopment of the QE Sports Center area. "In the overall masterplan of the redevelopment of the Sports Center there is a plan for a new cycling velodrome. There is a cycling track now but that is going to be developed into a professional style velodrome. We hope to see many more locally developed professional cyclists.