Add another first place finish to Romello Crawford’s palmarès.
The season’s most successfuul cyclist finished in pole position yesterday for the fourth time since the calendar flipped to 2019, once again displaying his sublime speed, strength and stamina in the feature 35-lap event of the sixth Star Party Rental multi-race progamme.
In perfect conditions for racing at the National Park, the 21 year-old stopped the clock in 1hr:17m.21s to win the entertaining race in wire-to-wire fashion.
The Trojan PSL standout led break away mates, Christopher Griffith (Team Evolution) and Brighton John (United We Stand) onto the podium after winning three of the eight sprint prizes.
Paul Choo-We-Nam finished fourth, bettering Deeraj Garbarran in a two-man duel while Geron Williams out sprinted the remnant of the peloton to take the final rewarding position.
The top three riders along with Curtis Dey pulled away from the 21-man peloton in the ninth lap and then went on to enjoy a 22-second advantage. However, four became three in the 21st lap when Dey pulled up with cramps as Choo-We-Nam and Garbarran were trying valiantly to connect.
The duo eventually did with 11 laps from the finish and Garbarran then tried several unsuccessful solo breaks as the sprinters quickly shut down his attempts to escape.
At the bell lap, the five riders were still wheel to wheel and there was a sense that the elite sprinting prowess of the in-form Crawford would prevail.
At 200m from the finish, the top three changed gears, rose from their saddles and barreled to the line but Crawford showed why he is currently the most feared man on the circuit. He easily blew by Griffith and John on the home straight and had enough time to celebrate as he crossed the finish line for another statement win.
Other winners yesterday included: Nashum Rigby (BMX Boys 9-12 years), Nehaum Rigby (BMX Boys 12-14 years), Sherwin Sampson (BMX 12-14 Boys and Girls), Jonathan Ramsuchit (Juveniles), Warren ’40’ McKay (Veteran U-50) and Kennard Lovell (Veteran O-50). (Emmerson Campbell)
