f Paria - Ins and Outs of Trinidad & Tobago 2013

The Trinidad and Tobago
experience
Beacon Cycling Festival
By Michael Phillips
Photo courtesy Phillips Promotions Co. Ltd.
The inaugural edition of the
newly rebranded Beacon Trinidad
and Tobago Cycling Festival was
nothing short of a tremendous
success. With new initiatives and a
new vision for the event, organisers
set out to conquer a somewhat
challenging task. Of course, the
ideal of involving greater aspects
of T&T’s culture remained but it
was enhanced this year, as those
involved seek to make the T&T Cycling Festival a destination
attraction event. From the actual cycling race nights bursting
at the sides with an infusion of local culture, to a number
of spin-off events between race days, the Cycling Festival is
well on its way to achieving such a status.
The Cycling Festival opened at the Queen’s Park
Savannah on April 22, with a breathtaking show of music,
costumes, traditional characters and of course excellent
international cycling. The attendance on opening night was
also spectacular with a whopping crowd of about 5,000
spectators! It continued on to Arima and Skinner Park with
equally thrilling turnouts and cycling performances.
As the “caravan” headed over to beautiful Tobago,
which is arguably the most anticipated part of the Cycling
Festival for many of the cyclists and international guests,
they were all treated to a little something extra. Prior to
the competition, Tobago-born road cycling star, Emile
Abraham, celebrated his birthday and gave the cyclists a
little taste of Tobago hospitality at his childhood home.
Also quite interesting, was that the Chief Commissaire out
of the U.K., tied the knot with her Jamaican cyclist beau at
the amazing Fort George over in Scarborough, the capital
city of Tobago.
As the racing aspect of the Tobago leg came around
though, the day was brutally hot and one could see the
effect on the riders. Despite the best efforts of the entire
pack however, homeboy Emile Abraham and Spanish rider,
Tony Tauler (who rode for Team Beacon) broke from the
pack early in the forty-lap event, maintaining a significant
lead till the end. Much to the delight of the Tobago crowd,
that race saw Abraham take the victory, beating Tauler
into second place with U.S. rider, Sterling Magnell of Rock
Racing, taking third. As they had been doing for most of
their Tobago stay, the riders could not wait to head down to
beautiful Pigeon Point beach to cool down.
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The Ins & Outs of Trinidad and Tobago