Tough test for Testori

By Cayman Sports Buzz
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Updated: 16 April 2018

Michael Testori in the Commonwealth Games Village before a training ride.

It might have been a tough debut for Cayman Islands cyclist Michael Testori but the 24-year-old said he was not discouraged by his performance in the men’s road race at the XXI Commonwealth Games in Australia on 14 April, 2018.

The official result for the shows a ‘did not finish’ for the Islands’ lone in the grueling 168.3 km (104.6-mile) race after battling adversity early on.

“It was a tough start. I knew right from the start [that] Australia, New Zealand and the other big nations were going to push the pace as quickly as they could and that’s exactly what they did in the first lap,” Testori said, who stepped out of his comfort zone of competing against other part-timers back home.

However, coming up against teams and professional riders was not all he had to encounter under the blazing Australian sun. “I found myself well-positioned in at least the top 20-30 persons going into the first climb but unfortunately, someone in front of me crashed and that negatively affected my positioning in the group quite significantly. So, I found myself chasing the major players in the first lap but it was virtually impossible to do,” he explained.

Testori said he was lucky to join a chase group with riders from several countries but as the race progressed but as some riders faded from the pack, a virtually impossible task of catching the leaders became a guarantee not to happen. Eventually, they were pulled from the course after falling too far off the pace. The results log shows Testori being on the course for just under three hours before his race day was over.

However, Testori was upbeat afterward. “All in all, I’m happy with my result considering I had to avoid a few crashes in the first lap. [It was] a bit unlucky but at least I know what to expect for the next Commonwealth Games and what to train for,” he said.

“It’s the most prestigious race I’ve ever done. I’ve never done a race with so many pros before,” said Testori, who has headed home in a bid to repeat at champion of the four-race Dew Cycling Classics Series that takes place in May.