Cross Country Cycling Classic Returns to Belize

April 16, 2022
by Larry Waight +

Tradition has returned to the jewel once more with the return of the 92nd running Holy Saturday Cross Country Cycling Classic 2022 in Belize, which tests the strength and stamina of cyclists as they put their pedal to the metal and race a total of 144 miles across the country to earn the title of Cross Country Champion.

The annual Holy Saturday Cross Country Cycling Classic usually kicks off at 6:00 a.m on Holy Saturday from in front of the BTL Park in Belize City where riders make their way to the official starting line in front of Leslie’s Imports, near mile one on the George Price Highway. This year, a total of 71 local cyclists, from seven different teams are working strategically against seven foreign riders which include a trio of Guatemalan cyclists led by 2019 defending champion Guatemalan Julio Padilla Miranda. The lineup of foreign cyclists also includes an American, a Mexican, a Barbadian, and an Anguillan.

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The Cross Country Cycling Classic has become a part of Belizean Easter festivities as hundreds of Belizeans would usually line both sides of the George Price Highway, hoping to get a quick glance of the peloton of riders as they pass by their respective villages. While elders huddle in groups, sipping on their favorite drinks, and children scatter to play, conversations would usually revolve around anticipations for the race, as well as the performance of Belizean riders, who would train months in advance for the grueling competition. Attention however would usually remain centered around foreign riders, and their perceived threat of outriding Belizean cyclists and taking the garland home with them, which is a well guarded local treasure among Belizeans.

While international riders would travel from as far away as the Mexico, Guatemala, Jamaica, the United Kingdom, and the United States, to participate in the competition their goal remains the same and that is to capture the title of the Cross Country champion, snagging numerous station prizes as they travel the route of the race. Those would usually range from a $5,000 cash prize for the first rider to cross the finishing line to other smaller cash prizes, farm produce, gift certificates, trophies, jewelry, and other items.

The Cross Country Cycling Classic originally started out from humble beginnings in 1928 by a Belizean local known as Monrad Metzgen, who was fascinated by the large number of Belizeans who would usually ride to the villages on their bicycles to attend weekly cricket matches. Metzgen then reportedly pitched the idea for a local cycling expedition that would travel across the country which would seek to test the ability of cyclists to cope with not only the stamina to pedal several miles across the country but also their ability to cope with the then badly built Western Highway, now known as the George Price Highway.