Oneil Samuels, of the Monte Carlo team, crosses the finish line in the last stage of the Viva Oasis/BRADA Tour of Jamaica in New Kingston on Sunday. - Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer

LeVaughn Flynn, Staff Reporter

Now that he has conquered the local scene, top cyclist Oneil Samuels has Pan American gold firmly fixed in his sight at next month's Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Samuels on Sunday won the Viva Oasis/BRADA Tour of Jamaica, a gruelling five-day cycling meet which took 58 riders over approximately 260 miles of Jamaican road from the east coast to the west and back.

When The Gleaner spoke with Samuels yesterday he was enjoying his downtime, but knew he would soon have to be on the road again.

"I'm perhaps going to take about two days off, probably start some light training on Wednesday then next week start back with the intense training," said Samuels, who raced with team Monte Carlo.

Samuels, a Central American and Caribbean (CAC) gold medallist in the scratch event, will compete in the scratch race and the points race at the Pan-Am Games which runs from July 13-29 and says it will be tougher than the CAC Games.

"There will be riders from all the South American countries, the Caribbean and the U.S.A., so it is going to be tough," he reasoned.

Victory in the Pan-Am Games would see Samuels completing one of several qualifiers for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

The Tour of Jamaica started on Wednesday with a Time Trial in Port Royal. On Thursday, the first stage took the riders from Ocho Rios to Montego Bay. Samuels didn't do well at this stage as his chain slipped off, but he more than made up for it by winning the remaining three stages. He won the Montego Bay to Negril stage on Friday, the Negril to Mandeville stage on Saturday and the final stage from Mandeville to Kingston on Sunday.

"The Negril to Mandeville route was the toughest because of Spur Tree Hill," commented Samuels.

Twenty seconds were deducted for each stage victory which helped lower Samuels' winning time to 11 hours, 33 minutes and 6.72 seconds.

Eric Murphy of Myogenesis from Atlanta, USA was second in 11 hours, 33 minutes and 16.47 seconds, while Marlon Williams of Heatwave, a combined Caribbean team, was third in 11 hours, 33 minutes and 31 seconds.

New bicycle

Samuels won US$1,000, but said all of that money may have to go into purchasing a new bicyclefor the Pan-Am Games.

"I need a separate bike for the track so I may have to use the prize money if I don't get some sponsorship," he said. "The one I used in the road race has been through a lot, so I'm not going to get the full hundred from it."

Despite the financial difficulties Samuels and most cyclists face, he said the Monte Carlo team was lucky to have a sponsor in the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel.

"If it wasn't for them it wouldn't be possible," he said. "They invested a lot of money in us, they support us and they make us comfortable so we can focus on riding."

This was the third year the Jamaica Cycling Association (JCA) was hosting the BRADA (Bike Ride Against Drug Abuse) Tour.

In 2005, the Tour lasted only a day, then bumped to three days a year later and then five days this year.

Vaughn Phang, president of the JCA, said the ultimate goal is to have a week-long Tour as the competition grows, but said for now he will be sticking with the current format as there are enough challenges as it is.

"There were a lot of teething problems in terms of getting everything together. But I believe it was better than last year. The riders thought it was good and everything was fair," said Phang.

"Overall it was a pretty good Tour. The road condition was good and the support from the police and medical personnel was great."