Darel Christopher Jr. sprints to the finish line to claim victory in the BVICF Classic this morning February 19, 2012. Photo: Carmilita Jamieson/VINO

Several riders turned out this morning for the cycling season opening race. Photo: VINO

The participants took part in the BVICF 30 Mile opening race. Photo: VINO

The 30-mile race course took the riders from the West End Police Station towards Frenchman’s Cay junction then west to the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College before heading back to finish at the starting point and saw Christopher clocking a time of 1 hour, 25 minutes and 35 seconds to claim overall victory and in the expert category.

Following closely behind was expert Orano Andrews who was just a second behind Christopher Jr., followed by Richard Morgan in third, two seconds behind Christopher.

Hank Veer, a Master rider in top form, placed fourth in 1:25:56 with another top form Master Adrian Dale taking sixth in 1:25:47. Veer’s placement earned him first place in the Master’s division with Dale in second.

Female top cyclist Sally Blackmore finished seventh overall in 1:30:00 and earned her the women’s top spot with Kay Reddy coming in as the second female with a time of 1:43:33.

The junior riders also had an exciting morning with a shorter course which took them from the start/finish at the West End Police Station to the Frenchman’s Cay Junction and to the Prospect Reef Roundabout, returning to start/finish for completion.

In the Under 17 category, Barney Nockholds took the top honour in 48 minutes with Justin Solomon in second with 50 minutes.

The next event on cycling calendar is a Mountain Bike race dubbed the Beef Island Challenge for adults and cadets on March 4. The next road bike race is on March 11 which is a 10-mile Time Trial at Palestina.

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