Jackson Langley and Liana De Medeiros claim top honours
Jackson Langley battled through adverse conditions on the way to victory in the Bermuda Bicycle Association Individual Time-Trial yesterday.
The VT Construction rider took the title in 26min 12sec, finishing more than a minute ahead of nearest rival and training partner Ollie Hayward.
“It was a really good race,” Langley told The Royal Gazette.
“It was pretty hard but I think that we all did well, and it was good to have a challenging race after the summer break.
“It was definitely a hilly course through Middle Road and on to South Shore. South Shore was extremely challenging, especially on the time-trial bike.
“The hills were killing me and the headwind was also challenging as well on the way back, so it was kind of like an accumulation of everything.”
The 15-year-old Warwick Academy student praised the efforts of runner-up Hayward, who took second in 27:34.
“I want to give a shout-out to Ollie,” Langley added.
“It was really good to race against him again because he kind of pushed me and we’ve been doing some really solid training leading up to the event.”
Geoff Smith rounded off the top three overall finishers in 28:03.
Winner’s Edge rider Liana De Medeiros was the fastest woman in 28:55 as well as in the C division featuring male riders.
“It was great time trial,” she said.
“Going into it I was feeling a bit tired from a heavy training load in the days prior, paired with the hilly course made it a tough time trial.”
Panzy Olander was second in 30:11, followed by Annabelle Miller in third with a time of 31:41.
Skye Ferguson won the all-women’s division in 34:26 while Jasper Lau (34:29) and Kelise Wade (36:05) were the sole male and female riders in the 13 to 14 division.
Romy Drea was also the only competitor in the 11-12 division.
Peter Dunne, the BBA president, was particularly thrilled by the large number of junior riders that participated in the event.
“It’s the hottest part of the summer, so it’s a small field. But for me the exciting part is seeing a whole bunch of young people out there, and that’s what we really look to build the sport in,” he said.
“It’s young people who become older people who become deeply committed to the sport. So to me the big win is that we had so many juniors under 19 years old.
“It’s encouraging to see that and I know a bunch of them just came back from the regional triathlon championships and some from the regional cycling championships, so that’s really positive.
“They are the ones who are going to make the sport exciting for the public and for the future.”
• For the full results, see Related Media