It was a good day for VT Construction team riders at the Gnosis Criterium in Hamilton as teenagers Cameron Morris and Charlotte Millington won the men’s and women’s divisions.

Download PDF File

Gnosis Criterium 2022.pdf

Many of the top riders turned out this morning for the race which took in loops around Victoria Park. Morris was part of a VT Construction trio who broke away from the pack halfway through the Open category race and rode to a comfortable victory as they claimed the three podium places.

Dominique Mayho and Philip Mace decided against challenging for first place, choosing instead to allow Morris, 16, to cross the line in first place in a team effort.

Morris was clocked in 29min 54.848sec while Mace was less than a second behind in 24:54.961 and Mayho third in 29:55.401.

All three had a spell of leading the pack after Mace had an early break from the pack before being joined by Morris and Mayho. They opened a lead on the chasing pack and with team victory assured, the more experienced pair allowed Morris to lead them across the line.

“That was our plan before the start; the plan was to race for Cameron. He’s young and putting in a lot of work and I want him to get used to being the team leader, learning how to win,” said Mayho, one of the island’s top cyclists.

“Our plan pretty much worked out to perfection, although I wasn’t expecting all three of us to be off in the front together. That’s just how it worked out in the end. Once we came together, we worked really well together.

“You could see across the course where the chasing group was, so in the last lap we were able to ease up and sort out who would cross the line first.”

In the later stages of the race, the lead trio opened about a 30-second lead on the chasing pack, completing laps in just over a minute as the speed of the race picked up.

“Most of the laps were about a 1:05, 1:06 and the lap where Cameron and I caught up with Phil was a really fast one, like 1:02,” Mayho explained.

“Once we got there we just got into a rhythm. The three of us all have the same goals and it makes it a lot easier to ride hard in the front.”

Chris Nusum, of Winners Edge, and Clifford Roberts, of Bicycle Works, completed the top five in the open category. Nusum finished fourth in 30:23.627 and Roberts very close behind in 30:23.700.

Millington landed the women’s category as teenagers grabbed the top three places, clocking 22:00.008 in a close finish with Anabelle Miller, of Winners Edge, who had a time of 22:00.628. Liana Medeiros was third in 22:36.457.

Millington and Miller set the pace for most of the race, with Medeiros getting clear of the chasing pack to claim the other podium spot.

The 14-year-old Millington showed she could be one to watch in the future. “I thought it was really good, this course suits me, the hills and everything,” she said.

The course had three speed bumps on Dundonald Street but after that the race was allowed to flow at speed. “The speed bumps aren’t too bad if you get on the right side of them,” said Millington, who is looking forward to competing in the Sinclair Packwood Memorial Race on May 27.

Today’s race was the last before the Sinclair Packwood Race, which will see all the riders putting it all on the line as they look to add their names to the list of winners of the race held in memory of the former top rider.

Mayho admits his focus will be different in that popular race, looking to defend his title after a record fourth win last year.

“That one I’ll be trying to win it myself,” he said with a laugh. “That’s the big one for the year and everybody wants to win that!”

Ricky Smith once again showed in the Citizens category that age is not a factor when it comes to criterium racing. Smith claimed all the sprint prizes and the eventual victory with smart positioning and well-timed surges to outpace teens Jake Smith and Jackson Langley.

Smith won in a time of 23:27.510, with Smith second in 23:27.964 and Christopher Hands third in 23:28.604. Langley was fourth.

Youth category races were won by Andrew Thomas, Skye Ferguson and Makao Butterfield.

This will be the 35th edition of the Bermuda Day Race, which was first held in 1987 when it was won by Buddy Ford. Nicole Mitchell won last year’s women’s race.