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120 riders have signed up to participate in the 81st Holy Saturday Cross Country Cycling Classic. 40 of those riders are foreign and are divided among a record 11 teams – 6 of which are Belizean and the other 5 foreign. Last year 20 year old American Ryan Bauman shattered the previous record by a full 7 minutes – finishing in just 5 hours, 40 minutes, and 12 seconds. And that we might add wasn’t a photo finish – far from it, because Bauman rode in 4 minutes, 40 seconds ahead of second place finisher Michael Lewis. But Bauman won’t defend his title – because he has gone professional. But there will be 120 other riders racing 145 miles for the garland and back – and we were up at dawn with them today to find out who will – or who can - reclaim the garland and the glory for Belize.

Keith Swift Reporting,
This morning the rising sun greeted the pack of cyclists as they pedalled west on the Western Highway – to mile 14 and back in the traditional, so-called “Holy Thursday Speed Ride.” For most this is their last ride before Saturday’s big ride against time and history. In this morning’s pack were two of the year’s biggest prospects – Brandon Cattouse and Byron Pope. It will be only Brandon’s third Cross Country and Byron Pope’s fourth.

Brandon Cattouse, C-Ray Cycling Team
“I put in all the training, I started training from last year to get ready for the race and I did good in the classics coming to Cross Country so I feel confident right now. I think I can do well. This is my third Cross Country so I will see how I can do.”

Keith Swift,
Feel any pressure?

Brandon Cattouse,
“A little pressure.”

Keith Swift,
What will be your team’s strategy out there on Saturday?

Brandon Cattouse,
“Well I am not sure what will be the strategy yet but the planning is on right now so by Cross Country, we are supposed to ready.”

Keith Swift,
Who if anybody will you watching?

Brandon Cattouse,
“Well I won’t really be watching nobody. I will just try to ride smart and don’t make any dangerous breaks and they go left me so that I can come down and try get a victory.”

Byron Pope, Benny’s Megabytes
“This is one of Belize’s biggest race in the history so everyone will try to do good in this Cross Country.”

Keith Swift,
Given again that a lot of people are looking at you to win, do you feel any pressure?

Byron Pope,
“Well it is a lot of pressure on you because the whole of the country, everybody wants to see a Belizean to win and my name is one of the names that are there to prove so I feel a little bit of pressure just by having my name on the air and that stuff.”

Keith Swift,
But do you think you can do it?

Byron Pope,
“Yes I think I can do it. Everyone should think they can do it and I think I have a good chance of taking the roses.”

But that won’t happen if Mateo Cruz gets his way. He will ride his first Cross Country on Saturday without the Santino’s team jersey. He says he has one thing these junior riders don’t.

Mateo Cruz, Team Belize
“This race, the 144 miles, is not for the swift. It is for who can endure and history has proven it for the last five years, only two Belizeans have been up there, me and Michael Lewis, and with our maturity we have learnt to be strong at the end of the race. Yes Santino’s is a good team but coming down the stretch the younger guys, they can’t think. They lose focus and that’s where me and Michael master them every year.

All those guys I have beaten them over and over and over in the Cross Country. I don’t have nothing to prove. They have to prove that they can beat me. In the last ten miles, if they are there, we will see who is the strongest guy. I know most of their schedules are based around my schedule because I was on their team. So I know all the tricks and who is the strongest down the stretch. It is who has the most legs down the stretch.”

And Giovanni Froggie Leslie says that will be him.

Giovanni Froggie Leslie, Team Santino’s
“I’m ready, I’m ready. Actually this is the best I’ve ever felt since I’ve started riding.

All the rest of cyclists know I am one of the guys in the best shape but because of that fact, they will try hold me back from winning and I think it is maybe because of our ideology and the way we look on life but all of that makes it very hard for a black man to win because last year when Ryan Bauman went down the road like six or seven next Belizean was there and everybody was following me and it just made the race stupid. One man could never run from a whole field of riders. So I don’t know, I will do my best – I will give 180%, I won’t hold back nothing; if I have to ride ‘til I drop I will do that.”

Post Marlon Castillo, Froggie Leslie will be anchoring the always formidable Team Santino’s with the semi-retired Jawmaine Meighan – along with the young upstart he was riding next to this morning – Darnell Barrow.

Darnell Barrow, Team Santino’s
“I am very prepared for this race. I’ve been training from New Year’s Classic so I am very prepared for this race coming on to Holy Saturday.”

Keith Swift,
You’re on a lot of people’s list of who can win. Does that put pressure on you?

Darnell Barrow,
“Well there will always be pressure but it is you that your mind has to be strong, you know. Put all the negativity away and only positivisty and relax.”

Santino Castillo, Manager
“I am settling for nothing less than a victory. I don’t care for positions 2 to 100 and whatever. The goal is number one with a Belizean crossing the line wearing his Team Santino’s shirt.

We have two very good Cubans coming to help the team and on the other team you have Graham Potter and you have Gabriel Epstein. In my case I am bringing the Americans specifically to help the Belizeans which is what I really do every year. The only time the American or the Cuban will win is if the Belizean can’t pull it through for us. Then in that case I will have to set the foreigner free as like what happened with Bauman last year when he went away solo. But this year I think the team is much better prepared and I believe the three Belizeans that have a very good chance on my team would be Jeovanni Froggie Leslie, Darnell Barrow, and Gregory Lovell.”

But one man who can throw a wrench into that plan is former back to back champ Chris Harkey who’s back to reclaim the garland.

Chris Harkey, Guinness
“Last couple times I came here I rode pretty good and I am hoping to ride here good for Cross Country.”

Keith Swift,
What will be your team’s strategy out there?

Chris Harkey,
“Obviously we don’t have the strongest team so we just got to kind of hope to make the right move.”

So it is the right move - that is what will determine which of these cyclists will ride into the history book on Saturday.

The race starts at 6 am in front of Leslie’s Imports and will end at Marine Parade about five a and a half hours later. The top prize is five thousand dollars.