Support for the team was provided Coach Kelli Rogan, Candice Todd and Srin Gummadi.  Chief cheerleading duties were left to Baden Rogan since the majority of the team was in Atlanta.

After an uneventful flight into Lyden Pindling Airport (Nassau, Bahamas) from Atlanta on the 28th, the team boarded a  van with the bikes to the host hotel.  Upon checking in, the team quickly put together all 6 bikes in a flash and got on the road for a quick ride.

Attending the welcome party at the hotel, the team met ….

After all the traveling and in anticipation of the early morning TT, the group settled into the rooms to relax and sleep early.

Up at the crack of dawn, Coach Rogan and the team joined the group ride to the race start.  Surprisingly, the 12 mile ride to the start became a great warm up due to the high pace.

The time trial started at 8:30am and was Eddy Merckx style.  No aero anything (except for medium depth carbon wheels.  The course was a 1.35 mile out and back for a total of 2.7 miles.  Our first racer off was Andrew Macrae.  He came back in 6:21.940 and set the standard which held up for the entire junior field.  Dominique Shore (7:21.027) and Zoe Frazier (7:24.843) had a great showing and stood in 7th and 8th place in the Junior 15-16 field.

James Todd (7:26.789) and Teja Gummadi (7:35.528) rode strongly to end up 1st and 2nd in the Junior 10-14 field.

After all of the senior racers finished their time trials, the 18 mile (3 laps of 6 miles) circuit race started at 10:30 for the Juniors.  The race was fast with a number of attacks.  With the time bonus at the end of the first lap, Dominique, James, and Teja sprinted to keep the other racers from taking the time bonuses and getting closer in the lead in the two age group general classifications (GC). 

The group ended up together and Wagner took off for the finish.  Just as Wagner was getting near the finish line, Jay Majors (JAR Cycling, Caribbean Junior Champion) came up fast on the left.  Wagner ended up winning by a few inches!  Zoe and Dominique finished 8th and 9th.

The Junior 15-16 GC had Wagner leading with Jay Majors in second.  Dominique and Zoe were in 8th and 9th place.

In the younger juniors, Antinence Simmions (JAR Cycling/Bahamas) finished first followed closely by James Todd and Liam Holowesko (Hot Tubes).  Teja came in a few seconds later.  The GC had James in first followed by Teja.  Liam Holowesko trailed Teja by 0.8 second with one race to go.

The team headed back to the hotel and spent the afternoon swimming and enjoying the beach (and a little sleep for some).   After a little shopping and eating dinner, another early night since the next day was going to be hectic.

The road race was 24 miles and was the same course as the circuit race with an additional lap.  The team had a leisurely ride over to the start location and arrived only 10 minutes before the start of the road race.  After quickly taking their gels, the team raced to the start line to get good position for the start of the race.

The juniors took a leisurely first lap and came back as one group.  As they started the second lap, Jay Majors attacked and Wagner quickly responded as they went out of sight.  When the group came around, they pack was intact. 

About halfway around the second lap, Justin Minnis (JAR Cycling/Bahamas) attacked and James Todd responded.  The two of them were on their own since the older juniors did not respond since Justin wasn't near the top of the standings at the time and James was leading the 10-14 age group.  By working together, James and Justin established a solid lead on the pack by the end of the second lap and extended it during the third lap.

Teja was carefully keeping an eye on Liam since 2nd and 3rd place were only separated by 0.8 seconds. 

With about 0.5 miles left, James accelerated and Justin was unable to hold his wheel.  James won the entire junior race and celebrated as he crossed the finish line about 7 seconds ahead of Justin.  By working together they took a minute from the peloton.  Justin jumped into 3rd place in the GC for Junior 15-16!

Wagner lead the peloton back and nipped Jay Major again in the pack sprint.  Dominique and Zoe finished strongly while Teja sprinted past Liam in the last 20 yards to keep 2nd place in the GC.

Final GC Standings (Junior 15-16)

1.      Wagner Macrae

2.      Jay Majors

3.      Justin Minnis

7. Dominique Shore

8. Zoe Frazier

Final GC Standings (Junior 10-14)

1.      James Todd

2.      Teja Gummadi

3.      Liam Holowesko

We thank our wonderful hosts and organizers of the Tour of Bahamas.  In particular, Mr Jeff Majors (JAR Cycling), Greg ,  Pablo Santa Cruz (TopView), and Tim Molyneux (TopView).