Cycling coach praises new St Thomas highway

The reviews have been positive from motorists and passengers travelling this smooth 17-kilometre four-lane carriageway.

And another group has now added its voice to glowing reviews.

Orwyn Richmond is the head coach of the Elevation Cycling Club which is based here in Bodles, Old Harbour, the same community that produced Andre Russell, one of cricket’s biggest stars currently.

Each weekend Richmond takes his team of cyclists on a training regimen across the island stretching more than a hundred miles back and forth.

Since the opening of the highway in St Thomas, built at an estimated cost of roughly $200 million, Richmond has added it to its list of training routes.

And following a recent trek from Old Harbour to Yallahs with his riders, Richmond highlighted several benefits the thoroughfare offers to professional cyclists.

“Riding on that road it has been phenomenal. It provides several key benefits. Benefit number one: It’s an excellent road for the class of bikes. These bikes they don’t do too well with potholes and rough roads because the tyres are so small.

“Other advantage riding there is the safety. It has a soft shoulder right through on that road. It also features a double lane which doesn’t hinder the motorists and the cyclists can comfortably ride on the soft shoulder without worrying about that they’re taking up the road.

“The other benefit is that the road is a nice rolling terrain. So you have a lot of ease and then you have a lot of press. So you have like a one-mile stretch that is 80 percent gradient which is good for a steady pace climber. So because it is one mile you can squeeze, put in the effort based on your heart rate; but then it’s not so long like a Spur Tree or Mount Rosser that you end up being exhausted. So on top of that one mile you get a little rest and then you have another hill right after.

“And so these things help to push these cyclists and it helps in the muscle engagement and the muscle training,” the international Level 1 cycling coach explained.

The Guyanese-born Richmond, who is a member of the Jamaica Cycling Federation selection panel, added: “So the hills are not too long of a climb and the descents are not too long, that’s the other thing. It’s not like you have a long descent and it’s not a technical descent either. So the descent doesn’t feature many turns like winding descent like Mount Rosser or Spur Tree. The descent is very smooth, with no potholes in the road.

“And then you have characteristics like because it is on the coast you have wind that helps to play a role in their training. You have wind resistance that you working against. But overall a very good road and also because the area is not as populated you don’t have much traffic.”

Other cycling clubs and cycling enthusiasts have taken a liking to the new St Thomas highway based on the features highlighted by Richmond. And the expectation is that its popularity is already growing among amateurs and professionals.

“On the days we went there we passed four to five separate groups of cyclists including a young boy not more than 10 years old,” Richmond said.  

The Elevation Cycling Club is one of the top clubs in the sport on the island and currently boasts two national champions in Jaequan Dixon (junior) and Jerome Forrest (elite).

Since its inception in 2021 the club has staged many circuit races across the island, the last of which was held in Mineral Heights, Clarendon in January.