The Bermuda Bicycle Association’s road racing season got under way on Sunday with what has become the traditional opener, a team time-trial.

Leading the way home were the Team Madison trio of Dominique Mayho, Kwame Curling and Adam Harbutt in a time of 25min 35sec for the 10.2-mile course.

Starting at three-minute intervals, 23 teams of four began on Middle Road at the former Paget post office and turned at Barnes Corner to head back east to the finish by Bermuda College. The finish time was taken when the third rider crossed the line, allowing teams to drop one rider along the way, which was the case for a number of teams given the challenging course coupled with strong winds.

Mayho’s Madison team started with just three riders because of an injury sustained by Jamie Cousins on his way to the competition, leaving them in the precarious position of having to keep all three riders together for the duration of the race.

With Mayho and Curling just returned from a week of training in Mallorca, Spain, the pressure was on Harbutt to rise to the challenge which given the result, he clearly did.

Following the Madison group was Team Tokio’s grouping of Manuel Lonfat, David McComas, Alan Mooney and Jonah Jones in 25:48 with the Winners Edge team of Darren Glasford, Anthony Bartley, Mark Hatherley and Matthew Oliveira in 26:14. Top honours in the women’s category went to Team Madison’s April Joyce, Sarah Bonnett, Clair McDivett and Ashley Estwanik in 30:10 and thirteenth overall.

The top junior squad of Caleb Ingham, Nicholas Pilgrim, Ziani Burgesson and Alexander Miller turned in an impressive performance at 29:55, just ahead of the winning women’s team.

Next up on the BBA calendar is the Winners Edge National Mountain Biking Championships at Ferry Reach Park on Sunday starting at 9am.