Team Pharmaco sound Cycling on the Avenue warning

Though Mexican cyclist Eder Frayre continued his recent dominance on the Trinidad and Tobago circuit by defending his Tobago International Cycling Classic (TICC) title on October 6, veteran TT cyclist Emile Abraham and his Pharmaco JLD team are intent on settling the score at the tenth edition of the Cycling on the Avenue event on October 9.

The 30-lap criterium event will be the headline race in a packed Cycling on the Avenue event, which is scheduled to start from 7 pm in the vicinity of Mike's Bikes on Ariapita Avenue, Woodbrook. Last year, with the main event reduced to 26 laps because of time constraints, Frayre pedalled to victory ahead of Adam Alexander.

Last year, Daniel Azate copped the Division Two title ahead of his Raiders teammate Jadian Neaves, with Alexi Ramirez copping the Division Two women's title ahead of Makaira Wallace, who claimed a pair of silver medals at the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Junior Track World Championships in Luoyang, China in August.

Cycling on the Avenue organiser and former TT cyclist Michael Phillips said competitions like these have helped to shape cyclists like Wallace.

Though Frayre has stated his plans to defend his title, the 50-year-old Abraham and his Phamarco teammates sounded their own warning during a press briefing at Mike's Bikes on October 8.

The Pharmaco team includes TT cyclist Collin James, American cyclists Lucas Bourgoyne, Caleb Landgrebe and Andy Scarano, who will be competing in his fourth Cycling on the Avenue event.

Scarano and Bourgoyne finished fifth and sixth respectively at the 2024 TICC event, and the latter is planning to make his trip to TT count.

"Our strategy hasn't been finalised yet. And if it was, we probably wouldn't say on a live broadcast. The overall strategy is to win the race...we're showing up for first and first-place only and we'll go from there," the 23-year-old Bourgoyne said.

"There's a different art to how you take corners here and how you ride your bike which you don't necessarily find in the US," Bourgoyne said.

Both Landgrebe and Scarano highlighted the humid conditions in Tobago, but they're planning to bring heat of their own through the lively streets of Woodbrook.

Team Phamarco was the lone team represented at the briefing, but they will have to contend with Frayre, TICC runner-up Mateo Garcia and a host of international and regional cyclists who will be vying for supremacy in the 30-lap race.

Speaking after his TICC win on October 6, Frayre said the Heatwave team has accepted him like a family member and will add fuel to his title defence.

"Yes, I have expectations to win (the Cycling on the Avenue race). Not full pressure because I won everything this week," Frayre said.

"It's always nice to win. Cycling is a very difficult sport. Sometimes you can be in very good shape, and sometimes you're down. When you're in good form, you need to try and win."

Around 2 pm on October 8, Phillips said approximately 45 cyclists had registered for the 30-lap race which will be the final item on the night.

The night's proceedings will commence with the juniors at the primary and secondary school level, with as many as six age group categories being contested in the duathlon.

The boys' and girls' 8-and-under, nine-ten and 11-plus will see primary school students putting themselves to the test, with their secondary school peers competing across the 13-and-under, 14-15 and 16-plus age groups.

After the duathlon races, the cyclists will take centre stage starting with a two-lap sprint invitational, followed by a 15-lap division two race and the highly anticipated 30-lap division one race.

The final race includes premiums and lap prizes which are expected to provide a "fiery" and "competitive" atmosphere.

The course will see the cyclists going from the Avenue to DeVerteuil Street, Hamilton Holder Street, then onto Fitzblackman Drive and Maraval Parkway before concluding on the Avenue by Mike's Bikes.

Phillips praised the collaborative efforts of the TTPS, the PoS City Corporation, the Ministry of Works and Transport and the residents of Woodbrook for helping him put this edition of the Cycling on the Avenue event together.