Sellier remains perfect for 2015
Gary AcostaSunday, December 6 2015
Peter Sellier of Mike’s Bikes won convincingly in the Open 1 Division 8-lap race of the Mike’s Bikes Jungle Bells Mountain Bike Race on Sunday in Chaguaramas.
Sellier, 16-years-old, has been undefeated for the year, even though he competes against the Elite men.
“This has been an amazing year,” said Sellier, “I really wanted to win today to round off my year with a 100 percent win rate.” Ryan Chin and Christopher Govia (Breakaway) placed second and third respectively. The top three are coached by Drew Edsall, who has been Sellier’s coach for nearly four years, and was also the coach for the Trinidad and Tobago Mountain Bike team this year. “This is the third year we have put on this event,” said Michael Phillips. “It was previously the Jungle Jackpot, and we re-branded it this year to Jungle Bells, a Christmas theme.” Chin claimed the two-Lap Primes (Start Loop and Lap 1) sponsored by Gatorade and Lifestyle Motors.
The three paced each other throughout the eight-lap race until Sellier broke away in the final lap to secure the win. Chin went on to compete in the optional Bonus Lap (a Time Trial of Lap 9) and won it in a time of 10:15, followed by David Hackshaw (Slipstream) in 11:28. Hackshaw placed 4th overall in Open 1, an impressive result for the 53-yearold.
Maria Gooding (Rainbow Warriors) won the three-lap women’s event nearly six minutes ahead of second-placed Carolina Lugo (Global Bikers). Eva Chavez (MTB Kings) paced third.
Enrique Pablo (Unattached) won the Open 2 Division 3-lap race a full minute ahead of second- placed Adande Piggott (MTB Kings). Pablo, a Tinymite, though not new to racing, is relatively new to Mountain Biking and has proven to be very competitive.
Unfortunately Dimitri Commissiong-Payne (also a Tinymite), who dominated the Open 2 Division this year, had to withdraw early in the race due to a broken chain. Christopher Smith (Slipstream) came third.
Prizes were also awarded for age category winners. Enrique Pablo won the Tinymite prize, Matthew Lazzari (Survival OS) won the Juvenile prize, Christopher Smith won the Masters 40-49 and Derrick Silva (Northern Rangers) won the Masters 50 +. The Youth Development Kids raced before the main event. There were fewer competitors than usual as many who would normally compete were in an inter-school duathlon that was scheduled on the same day. It did not diminish the enthusiasm or competitiveness of those that raced. Boys and Girls Under 13 and Under 11 raced four laps of the short course, and Scott-Michael Shaw (Northern Rangers) had the fastest 4-lap time of 8:22, winning the Boys Under 11. Boys and Girls Under 9 and Under 7 raced two laps and Stuart Bell (Giants) had the fastest 2-lap time of 5:04, winning the Boys Under 9.
Free refreshments were provided by sponsors Blue Waters, Gatorade and Yoplait. The event was also supported by Lifestyle Motors.
