Jamaica is set to host its first cycling tour, a three-day race, with the staging of the Jamaica International Cycling Classic from April 1-3.

This was announced at a press launch hosted by one of the sponsors of the event, Toyota Jamaica, at their Old Hope Road location on Thursday.

The brainchild of Carlton Simmonds, president of Simmonds the High Velocity Cycling Club, the event is expected to garner a large international contingent and with it a large international audience.

“All in all, it is looking good as an event for the first staging. The start-finish is going to be in the same place,” said Simmonds as he outlined the routes for the riders over the three days.

The first stage on April 1 will see the riders leave from Witter Village in Montego Bay to Falmouth in Trelawny, with a loop and back which is 56 miles.

The second stage a day later will see the riders leave from Witter Village to Discovery Bay in St Ann and back, which is 86 miles. The third stage on April 3 will see the riders leave from Witter Village to Duncan’s in Trelawny and back, which is 52 miles.

Simmonds said that 150 cyclists from the Cayman Islands, Miami, Atlanta, Washington DC, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad, and Cuba, along with local riders are expected to participate.

No ranking points will be earned this year, however, once the event is ratified by the world governing body, it is expected that come next year, participants will be able to earn ranking points from their participation in the event.

Reshima Kelly Williams, brand marketing manager at Digicel Jamaica, who are title sponsors of the event, said that it was a no-brainer to come onboard to sponsor the inaugural staging of what she dubbed “the Caribbean’s Tour de France”.

“As a brand that is made in Jamaica, we are always willing to support the natural talents of our fellow Jamaicans in various sporting disciplines.

“Digicel is known for throwing its support and enthusiasm behind track and field, football and cricket. However, we’ve also been just as excited to support our netballers, swimmers, golfers, and several other sporting talents, including our most recent, cyclists.”

Kelly Williams suggested that an event like this will help to engender the support of the local population towards leading a healthier lifestyle.

“An additional upshot of this sponsorship is that it signals an exciting opportunity for us to engage the wider Jamaican population into adopting healthier lifestyle choices like getting out there and riding a bicycle as part of their daily exercise routine.”

In addition to the sponsorship being provided by Digicel, their subsidiary SportsMax will be broadcasting the event live on SportsMax TV, for all three days.

Donna-Kay Sharpe, general secretary of the Jamaica Cycling Federation, indicated that Jamaica would be fielding two teams at the event.

“We will be fielding two teams, an elite team and also an under-23 team. Importantly this event will be good for them to race with persons from all over the world and get their game up. It’s the first of its kind where you have a tour, which is a three-day race series and certainly it will help with their endurance preparation for events later on this year,” she said.

The event is expected to benefit the local riders immensely as they will get overseas competition of the highest order, which is a welcome change from racing against each other, week in, week out.

— Dwayne Richards