Fresh off his exploit at the UCI World Championship Road Race in Zurich, Switzerland, last week, Colombian Matteo Garcia of Team Raiders pedalled to victory in Stage One of the 2024 Tobago International Cycling Classic (TICC), the 100km (five laps) Mt. Irvine/Grange Race on Wednesday.
Garcia, a second-year competitor in the event after his debut in 2022 and who only arrived on the island on Tuesday night straight from Zurich, was made to come from behind for his win in the opening of five stages.
This after veteran hometown rider Emile Abraham, 50, of Team Pharmaco and competing in his 34th staging and a recent Tour of Barbados winner, led at the end of the first lap with a time of 29 minutes, 13.82 seconds, followed by national cyclists Syndel Samaroo and Marius Hofmeester (Global Cycling/Netherlands).
However, on the second lap, Mateo made his first move to lead overall in a time of 58; 25.04 minutes, with Josias Velasquez (Heatwave/Venezuela) in the second spot and Hofmeester again third.
The 28-year-old Garcia continued to hold his lead at the end of the third lap in one hour, 26.17.82 minutes, with Hotmeester and Velasquiez switching places, and the South American kept up his lead this time, followed by Mexico’s Eder Freyre. The defending champion was the new second-placed rider, ahead of Hofmeester and James Somerfield of the United Kingdom.
Thursday, Stage Two (Milford Road/Shaw Park Race) will see the riders start at Milford Road Extension (next to Scarborough Secondary School and Crusoe Bakery) from 8am for their 90km (10 laps) event, while Division Two (45km/five laps) will follow.
The five-day event features cyclists from Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Canada, Mexico, the USA, Suriname, Barbados, Jamaica, Grenada, Guyana, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and host T&T competing for more than $100,000 in prizes across challenging terrain.
