The Tour of Belize is set to start again on February 13th. This year instead of 9 stages in 9 days, there are 6 stages 5 days. 13 teams will compete and they are from the USA, Me3xico, Nicaragua, Guatemala and of course Belize. The lead broadcaster and public relations person for the event is Kwame Scott. He says that if you don't know why the Tour of Belize is big, you'd better ask somebody.
Kwame Scott,
"I know it is normal Jules but what is the biggest bicycle race in the world you know about?"
Jules Vasquez,
The Tour de France.
Kwame Scott,
"Okay, this is the Tour de Belize, the Tour of Belize, whichever way you choose to put it. This is a race that when you hear of it you will say that Belize is down in Central America it has 8,866 square miles, it is a beautiful country, you rode through the cane fields, through the citrus orchards, through the hills of the west, we were very close to Guatemala, we were close to Mexico, that sort of thing.
The race is now internationally recognized, it is on the UCI calendar, it means that major teams are looking to participate because it says a whole lot for your resume, it says a whole lot if you as an individual win a stage of a UCI certified race. The tour is a race that grows on you. After day one you become more interested, day two a little bit more, day three you might want to miss work, day four you might want to be at the finish line and so forth."
Jules Vasquez,
The man who went home with the yellow jersey last year Marlon Castillo, what
is his chance in a field which it appears to be highly competitive?
Kwame Scott,
"Let me first of all say that last year I was one of the critics saying that Marlon had no chance of winning. We had nine stages and it wasn't until stage eight that Marlon showed us what he was capable of doing. Marlon I think stands as good a chance as any. He will be riding for the strongest team he has ever ridden for. They have four Argentineans, two Guatemalans, and an American along with himself and Gregg Lovell riding for Team Santino. I think he has a very good chance."
The official launch will take place on Tuesday February 12th at the San Cas Plaza. Marlon Castillo is the two time defending champ.
