National road king Emile Abraham had to settle for third place yesterday in the opening race of the 2011 Tobago International Cycling Classic.
Having finished a close second in the Newsday Classic in Trinidad on Saturday, Abraham found himself trailing two riders on home soil yesterday.
In the first of four stages of the Division One competition--the 110 kilometre, 10-lap Carnbee circuit which finished at Coral Gardens on Shirvan Road--Ricardo Zoidl of Team Austria took the honours, launching a successful breakaway on the final climb to leave behind Abraham and Newsday Classic winner Euris Vidale of the Dominican Republic. The three riders had broken from the main bunch with about three laps to go.
In a fast race in which cyclists covered the circuit at 15 minutes per lap, Vidale again got the better of Abraham in the sprint, while Zoidl headed them by eight seconds.
This year a points system will determine the division winners. Zoidl collected 25 points for his victory yesterday. A record 90 riders began the Division One race.
Today, stage two features a 117km circuit race in Les Coteaux over four laps for Division One riders, while in Division Two, the cyclists will do two laps (60km).
In yesterday's opening Division Two race (60km), Jamal Eastmond of Barbados took the leader's orange jersey after beating Barry Luces of Rigtech Sonics and Ross Callender of Barbadian outfit G4 Swift.
Wearing the sprint champion's green jersey this morning is yesterday's top sprinter Vidale.
Selected results
Div 1.
1. Ricardo Zoidl (Team, Austria) 25pts 2. Euris Vidale (Dominican Republic) 23 pts (Team Foundation) 3. Emile Abraham (Team Vitamalt) 21 pts 4. Werner Riebenbauer (Team Austria) 19pts.
Doiv 2:
1. Jamal Eastmond (Barbados) 15pts, 2. Barry Luces (Rightech Sonics) 13pts, 3. Ross Callender (G4 Swift, Barbados) 11 pts.
Source: www.trinidadexpress.com