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04th
March 2010
Cycling:
President says still a lot of work to do
Anthony De Beauville
It
has been dubbed a ‘Tremendous Success’
by the St.Lucia Cycling Association and sponsors
J.Q.Charles Group of Companies CEO, as competitive
cycling returned to the city circuit after nearly
15 years in the wilderness. Under humid conditions
hundreds turned out as they braved the scorching
heat to lend their support to the showpiece.
Speaking to members of the media present President
of the St.Lucia Cycling Association Cyril Mangal
who was a former cyclist in his earlier years
said, “Though they experienced a late
start to the showpiece it was no fault of theirs
as riders from the out districts arrived way
past the stipulated time. But at the end of
the final event everyone appeared pretty satisfied
with the outcome and the scintillating performances
exhibited by the many cyclists who participated
augurs well for the sport of cycling on the
island.”
With a number of questions asked of him in quick
time, Mangal agreed that the SLCA still has
a lot of work to do in developing cycling and
getting other people involved in the sport.
“We have a long way to go especially in
the Mountain bikes area. The SLCA more than
ever will be looking at ways and means to take
the sport to the various schools on the island,
as the well seems to be overflowing with talent
as seen earlier by the Cadet riders in the under
13 category.”
The SLCA boss said, “I am heartened that
the St.Lucia public was still able to support
cycling, and most importantly the riders. I
am also satisfied with the performances of the
top riders as well. In terms of a venue, the
city circuit event is here to stay. We have
discussed the issue at the executive level and
the SLCA will want to keep this event as a signature
event and can rest assured St.Lucia cycling
fans will be entertained come National and Independence
days respectively. This is an event that promotes
the sport; it’s a spectator event. It
is sad that we do not have a track to compete
on, but we are still able to have a high speed
event.”
“In terms of encroachment it is a difficult
thing. the SLCA would like to have a lot more
safety barriers; we had at least thirty five
and that helped a whole lot. |
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You cannot control
everybody, but at the same time the SLCA must
thank members of the public for adhering to
the many calls from the master of ceremonies
to keep the street clear. Mangal left no stone
unturned and was “thumbs up” for
members of the Royal St.Lucia Police Force
for a great job done in terms of keeping the
street clear and taking care of the traffic
when necessary.
Meanwhile, Gordon Charles CEO of J.Q. Charles
Group of Companies the gold sponsor for the
Independence Day Classic taking in all of
the excitement said, “It was really
exciting,. The event in itself was compact
and the SLCA was able to complete all of the
races on the afternoon programme. I was a
bit anxious at one time whether there would
have been enough light, but from what I saw
the event was well managed.”
Like the SLCA President, Charles complimented
the Police for a job well done and spoke highly
of the safety barriers,. For a first time
event in years he thought the SLCA could arguably
be resting on its laurels having done such
a good job in accessing it. The track in itself
was exciting it was a lot shorter which means
for the spectators they saw the riders more
often than in previous years when Chaussee
Road was part of the event.
Charles further went on to say, “I am
pleased with what transpired, I would like
to have a post mortem, so we can identify
and snap ups, but at this point in time the
event went quite well.” By the look
of things it appears that local cycling has
finally received the bang start that has eluded
them for years. Interestingly the J. Q. Charles
CEO has challenged the SLCA to incorporate
more of the social riders in its championships,
when he said, “There is a growing cadre
of people who ride mountain bikes and who
ride on weekends. Getting these people involved
in cycling will build the excitement of cycling
in the long run.”
Not very often you hear these words coming
from the sponsors’ corner, and Charles
left no stone unturned when he further said,
“The SLCA are the ones to put in the
effort to make it happen; the sponsors are
merely there to write the cheques.”
Discuss
Story
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