Matt Boys and Caitlin Conyers claimed the men’s and women’s titles in the Sinclair Packwood Memorial Race on Bermuda Day.
Boys, a former professional cyclist, lived up to his billing as pre-race favourite in the absence of Dominique Mayho, a six-time winner, cruising to his first title.
“I had a plan with Jackson [Langley] to make the race hard from the start,” Boys told Bernews.
“Unfortunately, he crashed almost immediately in a pothole and came down hard. I committed to the plan and put my head down, turned around, and off I went.”
The 34-year-old, who moved to Bermuda in December last year, said he was disappointed not to have been made to work slightly harder for his win.
“I was disappointed to be by myself – I don’t think I was going that hard,” he said. “I would have liked at least one more guy with me. Che’Quan Richardson tried, but it wasn’t his day.
“I planned to get to Burnthouse Hill and put my forward down, but I ended up being by myself. I think some of the guys talked themselves out of it. I would have worked with them if they’d come with me.”
Boys added: “It feels really special [to win]. It’s such a unique race where the whole country comes out to support and cheer you on. It was truly special coming down Front Street.”
Conyers, the island’s most decorated international female rider, added to the title she won in 2019 with a dominant performance.
“I wanted to go as early as possible because I was trying the catch the male riders,” Conyers said.
“I attacked on Scaur Hill, put my head down, and then just time-trialed to the end.”
