Carlos Lopez didn’t break the record but he did break hearts of the Belizeans who’ve been thirsty for a hometown win since 2006. Keith Swift was at the finish line to hear the hearts break.

Keith Swift Reporting,
At the finish line on Marine Parade, Mexican Carlos Lopez glided across the finish line solo with no one in sight to seize the 81st garland.

Carlos Lopez, Winner - 81st Cross Country
“I am very happy and he really enjoyed the stay in this country. He thinks it is a beautiful country.”

Keith Swift,
Did he expect to win?

Carlos Lopez,
“He didn’t expect because this is not his weather and this is not his terrain. He is a mountain specialist so he didn’t think he could win and he is very happy.”

Lopez’s countryman Carlos Hernandez placed second. Clinching the third spot was Cuban American Frank Traveiso riding for Team Santino’s.

Frank Trevieso, 3rd Place
“It is a real hard race. It is the first time I did this race. This is my first hard race of the year so this is good.”

Keith Swift,
What was the hardest part?

Frank Trevieso,
“The way back.”

And although it is now being contested, the first Belizean to cross the finish line was Jose Choto who apart from winning the prized bull –was hero for a day.

Jose Choto, 4th place
“Coming to the line a lot of people were insulting me and thing but I just ride with God in my heart and I tried my best. People can say what they want. I am satisfied with what the boss gave me and how the team worked and I am happy with that.”

Keith Swift,
You were the first Belizean to cross the finish line. What does that mean to you?

Jose Choto,
“Well I am the first Belizean and I feel very good and I win two Tour de Belize and I am the best Belizean for the last tour and I am happy with that. It is just that they don’t mention we, maybe because we are not from Belize or maybe because they don’t like us but we still put ourselves in the picture.”

Choto’s fourth place was a photo finish with Giovanni Froggie Leslie who placed fifth. Froggie competed fiercely but in the end he says the odds – which in this case were the other riders - were against him.

Giovanni Froggie Leslie, 5th place
“Well I give mi all so I am not disappointed. I give mi all. The man they knew how I wanted to win it so they hold it against me. So I had to close a lot of the big gaps but nobody wanted to help so that was it. I know the boss will be disappointed but friggin Choto made the white boy ride right down the road. I have nothing to say mein.”

Keith Swift,
Is it any consolation that you were possibly the second Belizean to cross the finish line?

Giovanni Froggie Leslie,
“I don’t really worry about that; that is nothing. The win was more important and we didn’t get it so that’s it.”

And while Froggie was bitter, his team-mate 21 year old Elston Coleman was ecstatic. He was the third Belizean to cross the finish line –and for him – that was reason to celebrate.

Elston Coleman, 7th place
“We trained very hard for this year. At the end I ended up sixth overall. That is unbelievable because they didn’t even have me as one of the contenders to win, just a wild card they call it.”

Keith Swift,
You see genuinely happy right now?

Elston Coleman,
“Yes I’m happy because I am the third best Belizean. No one thought I could have do it and I have to say thanks to God for giving me this strength.”

He actually placed 7th but that was still ahead of his team mates Darnell Barrow and Greggie Lovell.

Darnell Barrow, 14th place
“Today I ride very coward. I didn’t ride aggressive enough today.”

Keith Swift,
What do you mean coward?

Darnell Barrow,
“Because I was trying to save my legs for down the stretch and too many breaks went away and I was left in the back and so I burnt too much energy trying to bridge across. I didn’t ride aggressive today. I slipped up today.”

Keith Swift,
You disappointed?

Darnell Barrow,
“Very disappointed. I could have done better but I slip up, I slip up.”

Greg Lovell, 22nd place
“We all did our best I thank all my team mates Jeovanni Leslie and the other guys, they did a very good job. We worked hard for it and we tried our best. This is the hardest Cross Country I have ever ride and….”

Keith Swift,
Why was this the hardest?

Greg Lovell,
“Because of the foreign competition. It was so many guys that came in and they had lot of experience so they ride a lot of tours and they race more than us so we tried our best to train hard, train in our country Belize and we tried our best.”

And so did Shane Vasquez who was the last Belizean to win a Cross Country. That was back in 2006.

Shane Vasquez, 9th Place
“It was really unpredictable, hard to make good plans around the race based on how it was going this morning. There were a lot of attacks, a lot of breaks. It is hard to really say which one is the right one. I had my little brother working hard today. I tried my best trying to counter and trying to make some attacks but apparently it is hard. Sometimes you got it really good and sometimes you are just unfortunate. Well I really thank the most high that it was a good day for me. I didn’t win the race but hopefully sometime very soon in the future.”

Quinton Hamilton, 12th place
“I didn’t really have to explain but what happened back in the mile forties is I went for some refreshments and that was the same time when the breakaway went and it was kind of too late. I tried to catch them in the last 20 miles but the gap was already too far, like five or six minutes. Probably if the race was a couple more miles to the finish probably we could have caught them.”

Keith Swift,
You think you made mistakes out there?

Quinton Hamilton,
“Well not mistakes. We all had to get refreshments or else your engine is going to shut down.”

Keith Swift,
You satisfied with where you finished?

Quinton Hamilton,
“Yeah I could work with that but more could be done.”

Keith Swift,
Roger how did the race go for you?

Roger Troyer, 31st Place
“Bad. I changed my strategy today. I wanted to ride more aggressive and I think I probably didn’t eat enough coming back because I was right there at like at mile 37 when the break went but I just couldn’t get across and from there it kind of went down hill for me.”

Ernest Jawmaine Meighan, 40th place
“The race was real hard. It started hard. I just tried and finish the race.”

Keith Swift,
You satisfied with where you finished?

Ernest Jawmaine Meighan,
“Well I am satisfied I finished the race but I really was really focused on my guys up front. I was asking every like five miles how my teammate is doing up front and I thought we were going to win the race.”

But we didn’t, the Mexicans did. And for them the garland wasn’t enough - as the champ Carlos Lopez was draped in a giant Mexican flag – rubbing it in that a pair of Mexicans dominated Belize’s biggest sporting event.

The only other Belizean rider in the top ten was Geovanni Choto who finished 8th. 116 riders started the race but only 47 finished. Those who didn’t include Brandon Cattouse, Byron Pope, and last year’s top Belizean finisher Michael Lewis. He placed 2nd last year but ranked 89th this year.