Road racing took another leap forward this year and can only get bigger and better going forward, according to Bermuda Bicycle Association (BBA) president Peter Dunne.

The NatWest Island Games alongwith 23 races were included on the 2013 BBA schedule, Dunne welcoming an increased number of riders.

And 2014 promises to be another busy year with plenty of incentives for the top cyclists.

“The international competitions in the 2014 calendar, including Commonwealth Games in the summer and CAC Games in November, will require our top riders to get more experience racing overseas as preparation,” said Dunne.

“We are beginning to discuss this with the athletes involved to find a programme that will work for them. Where we can we’d like to have them racing together and where schedules permit we will pursue this.

“In a few weeks the mountain biking season will start, and there are numerous fans of off-road racing who are itching to get to the start line.

“We are expecting to see further expansion of the numbers in this discipline through the four month season.”

Although the final race of the season on Sunday was cancelled to due bad weather, the association chief said he was pleased with how the sport continued to grow.

“2013 was another year of significant increases in the number of racers as well as the emergence of some new talent,” added Dunne.

“We held 23 races plus the NatWest Island Games cycling events, and having a broader base of competitive teams brings an additional level of competition to the season and we hope that it continues in 2014.

“Unfortunately we were rained out on Sunday so the road season finished with a soggy whimper, we typically race in all sorts of weather but this year we had two events interrupted by extreme conditions.

“One of the more satisfying parts of the competition season was that Team Tokio won the team prize, wrestling it away from Winners Edge who have held it for the last two years.”

Of importance to the president was the emergence of some exciting junior riders and the potential of more female athletes competing in the sport.

At the recently completed Caribbean Cycling Championships (CCC) in Curaçao, Nicole Mitchell and Zoenique Williams won three medals between them to put Bermuda firmly on the regional cycling map.

Mitchell claimed a pair of bronze medals in the time trial and road race while team-mate and CCC debutant Williams earned the silver medal in the road race.

“We are also seeing our juniors make great strides in their abilities and competing at the top of the local races,” said Dunne.

“And our females are continuing to have success in international racing, both in the NatWest Island Games and Caribbean Cycling Championships.”

The mountain biking season begins on November 17 with the first event at the Arboretum.