Peter Sellier, 15, of Mike's Bikes Cycling Team proved that he is the best mountain bike rider in the country when he won the open category of the River Raid Nine, hosted by the Rainbow Warriors Triathlon Club at Samaan Park, Chaguaramas, on Sunday.
Sellier, who was in a ding-dong battle with former champion Jason Costelloe (Team Beacon), waited until the final of the four-lap race to whip pass Costelloe to win in a time of one hour, one minute and 52 seconds (1:01.52).
Costelloe finished second in 1:02.44, while Ryan Chin (Team Breakaway) was third in 1:03.36, followed by former triathlon champion Ryan Mendes, 42, who finished in 1:04.10.
In the two-lap event, the race was won by Dimitri Commissiong-Payne, 13, in 35:56, with James Amow, (Rainbow Warriors) second in 37:42 and Amir Ali third in 37:52. Among the women, Maria Gooding (Rainbow Warriors) was first in 41:40, second was Kiyomie Rankine (Rainbow Warriors) in 48:38 and Gabriella Gooding (Fujitsu Ninjas) third in 49:14.
Among the youngsters, Theodor Hagen won the Seven and Under; Troy Llanos (Rainbow Warriors) won the 11-12 and Darian Nimblett won the 13-15.
In the 5km Trail Run, Livan Reyes, 30, of Cuba won in a time of 14:59, followed by the Guyanese pair of Kelvin Johnson and Lionel Dandrade.
Lindsay Mies was the women's champion in 20:15. Two hundred and ninety-five runners faced the trails of Chaguaramas, while the mountain bike race attracted just over 100 participants. Race organiser Jason Gooding was very pleased with the turnout and stated that this was the most number of mountain bikers to ever participate in any T&T event.
The growing event attracted sponsorship from Bermudez Wheat Crisps, Fujitsu, ArcelorMittal, Chaguaramas Development Authority, Gatorade, Blue Waters, Odessey Timing Company and Mike's Bikes.