Reproduced compliments of The Nation News

- Wednesday 27, April-2005

HOT ON THE WHEELS of a silver medal at the World Cycling Championships, the impressive Barry Forde rode away with gold in the keirin at the Pan American Cycling Championships in Mar del Plata, Argentina, yesterday.
Keith Yearwood, president of the Barbados Cycling Union and head of the delegation, was ecstatic when he called Starcom Network to announce the news to Barbadians.

“He did a fantastic job in beating the field today – it was just a spillover from the Worlds. Nobody could have outclassed him today.

“He won his two preliminary rides in fine style and then came back [just about an hour ago] to finish the gold medal in even finer style. All in the Barbados camp are elated and we feel very, very proud,” Yearwood said.

“The performance by Barry Forde was welcomed by all in the stadium. Everyone erupted as Barry Forde took out two Cubans, one American and a guy from Uruguay who was second. It was a very, very professionally done job.”

Forde has had a fantastic follow-up to his sixth-place finish at the Athens Olympic Games in August. He placed in three of five International Cycling Union World Cup meets after those games and then went on to win a silver medal in Carson City, California, last month.

He admitted it was tough preparing for another competition so quickly, but he felt “good”.

“Motivation wise, coming off the Worlds and getting ready for another championship in just a couple of weeks, I had to travel back to Europe and start to prepare all over again.

“Mentally it was really hard the first two weeks, and training was a bit difficult, but my legs started to come back in the last week-and-a-half so it wasn’t too bad. This brings Forde’s tally to six medals at the Pan Am Cycling Championships.

Forde gets the chance to seek redemption in the match sprint today. At World Championship level, the former Foundation schoolboy has never made it past the qualifying round. This week he will be hoping his speed will take him into the medal round.

Compliments of the Nation News

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