CHARLESTOWN, Nevis – ASSIM CHAPMAN, the Newcastle youth who trains under national cycling champion Reggie Douglas, proved this past weekend that he has what it takes to eventually become a major player in the local, regional and international cycling scene.
Though only 14, Chapman has been training with Douglas and has shown rapid improvement over the past the year when he first started to ride with the elite racers.
Having begun the season trailing regular leaders such as Douglas and James Weekes, Chapman’s tenacity and drive have allowed him to rapidly close the gap and continually challenge his senior counterparts.
The most recent race, the GMP Graphics & Printing Classic, was held over the weekend as part of Nevis Tourism Week and saw Chapman surpassing his mentor for his first event victory this season.
“Assim has been working for this win all year, and he rode a great race, I congratulate him 100%,” Douglas said following the six lap, 30km race that took riders from Hunkins Drive to the Four Seasons resort and back.
Finishing behind Chapman were Alex Isles and Douglas in second and third position, respectively.
Though Douglas won the first two races of the season, he had stated that he felt he was off to a slow start for the year due to a recently recovered from illness.
The GMP Graphics & Printing Classic was also comprised of junior and senior rider categories. With the race originally being started by Steve Ward’s junior-oriented Queen’s City Cycling Club, the outfit had to represent itself well and managed to take all three of the top spots in the junior category thanks to riders Donique, Zavan Butler and Dorez Daniel.
The Nevis Cycle & Triathlon Club congratulated all of the riders for their participation in the race and stated that they expect an equally exciting event this Saturday (Feb. 13) as they host the second mini-triathlon of the season.
