American Frank Travieso is back to defend his crown at the Beacon-sponsored Cycling On The Avenue event which pedals off tonight from 7 pm.
Travieso leads a large contingent of international riders, many of whom were also here for the just concluded Tobago International Cycling Classic which Venezuelan Clever Martinez won.
On Wednesday, he will shift his focus to the feature 35-lap grind for Division One riders which can also earn him a handsome cash prize of $10,000.
At a press conference at Harts Mas Camp on Tuesday in Woodbrook, event organizer Michael Phillips announced the
$10,000 winner's prize as part of a huge amount cash incentives that will be on offer.
There will also be lots of prime prizes, the smallest being a $750 amount for the winner of any random lap, Phillips said. Travieso is set to face stiff competition from Jamol Eastmond, a winner of the event back in 2014, veteran Emile Abraham who was sixth at the Tobago Cycling Classic and winner of the National Championship Criterium last month, and other participants Scott Mc Gill, Marcel Weber (Germany), Martinez and Cyrus Pearo (USA) etc.
The event which will comprise many other sponsors such as NLCB, Blue Waters, Yoplait Yogurt and Gatorade among many others, will begin at 7 pm with a duathlon race for Primary Schools athletes. This event will comprise a large field of approximately 100 participants, from an age bracket as small as 7-and under.
Phillips told the media that because of the success of the primary school, as well as a Secondary Schools duathlon events last year, they have decided to bring it back again, as it brought new blood to the overall event.
After the schools' events, there will be a three-lap sprint for international riders. Division 2 will begin with a 15-lap race for which there be prizes for juniors, elites and masters cyclists. There will also be a $1, 000 prize for the first woman to cross the finish line.