Elevation’s Melvin McFarlane takes Festifil road race

McFarlane, 25, of Elevation Cycling Club, best a field of over 20 cyclists, staving off closest challenge from clubmate Jerome Forrest in a sprint to the finish line. 

Donrick Fearon, riding unattached, took third spot and $30,000, while Forrest walked away with $50,000.

There was plenty pre-race hype leading up to the high anticipated event. That it isn’t part of the national calendar, the race was created for the purpose of building camaraderie among cycling enthusiasts. 

Veteran rider Mark ‘Wakesoon’ Henry was touted as the man to beat but faded over the 50km course which started from the Hi-Pro Feed Factory to Mineral Heights and Mitchell Town before ending near the popular Salt River Mineral Bath.

The riders were literally inseparable from the starter’s gun until McFarlane and Forrest breakaway from the peloton at Halse Hall. From then, there was no chance of catching the experienced pair, Forrest himself the 2023 national elite road race champion. But with about 400 metres to go it was a dash to the finish with the in-form McFarlane prevailing. 

“It was a good race,” said McFarlane, “it was always going to be either me or ‘Nick’ (Jerome Forrest). All of us are familiar with this course because it’s a course that we use for training regularly.

“It’s a good start to the year for me and the sport. I’m just hoping that we can have a lot of competitive races because this will put me in good shape to defend my national title.”

In congratulating his teammate for the win, Forrest lauded the organisers. “It’s one of the best organized cycling races I’ve seen in a long while,” he tells Old Harbour News. “The purse was very attractive for one and secondly all the riders were well fed which is very important in terms of nutrition.”

From this evidence chief organizer Uriel Dunkley now has a product with the potential to become a major attraction for cyclists, corporate partnership and the growth and development of the sport. 

In response to a query posed by Old Harbour News, the Festifil founder said: “We plan to grow it. I was really pleased with what happened on Sunday. We would have gotten more riders had it not been for the weather.

“I intend to do another one come summer; I want to do two every year. So, we have one for summer now; [and] that one will be open. And that one I’m looking at probably a million dollars in purse prize for that one.

“So, it’s something that I intend to grow to kind of get the brand awareness of Festifil out there as well. And I find that a lot of people not really helping the cyclists so we intend to see what we can do.”