The Junior National cycling Team is back home tonight after doing Belize proud in the Dominican Republic at the Caribbean Junior Cycling Championships.
Gabrielle Gabourel won a Gold in the Individual Time Trial and a bronze in the Road Race, while Jaylen Briceno scored a bronze in the Individual Time Trial.
7News was at the airport to greet them today:
Gabrielle Gabourel, Gold and Bronze
"It was definitely, I think, one of the happiest moments of my life to stand on the podium and hear the Belizean National Anthem play in a foreign land, especially holding the flag on the number one spot on the podium. I held it with pride, especially in the month of September. I think I put a lot of work into my time trial because it's a guaranteed win. There's not many factors that can affect your time trial as it can affect your road race."
"So I think I prepared extra for the time trial. So I went in confident in the time trial."
Reporter
"And for the road race, what was the mindset? you received bronze?"
Gabrielle Gabourel, Gold and Bronze
"Yeah, I got bronze. I tried my best to get away, but it was impossible. It was next to impossible, especially after the time trial. I think I had a big target on my butt because my time was kind of a lot faster than others. So it was like, I was a target for the road race."
"I came back a lot more motivated to train and go again. Next year it will be U23, I'm no longer a junior after this. So it's definitely going to be harder, but I'm motivated to go out there and train more."
Jaylen Briceno, Bronze
"A great honor to actually bring back something to my country. It's always been a dream to first of all be selected for the national team and even a greater experience to actually be on the podium compared to other guys from all over the Caribbean."
"And honestly, when I went there, it was very intimidating because I'm a small guy. Everybody was way bigger, but I still went out there and gave it my all. I was overwhelming with joy when they told me that I got bronze."
Alicia Bennet, President, BFC
"In all honesty, we feel great. I won't say I feel great. We feel great as a team. This is a welcome I think Cycling Federation was longing for. And the team... did well. And what can we say? It was a woman who brought home the goal with a woman president."
"I won't take props for her training that she did. I won't do that. But whatever, Ms. Cattouse, who definitely put her in the right position throughout the years she trained her, definitely she got the gold and she did excellent."
"We were the force to be reckoned with out there. It's like once Belize move, we have to move."
Belize ranked 4th overall in medal count of a possible 24 medals we got 3. Congratulations are in order.
