By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net    

THE Bahamas Cycling Federation will be sending Kami Roach and Grand Bahamian Livingstone ‘Launy’ Duncombe, the top two junior cyclists in the country, to compete in the Pan American Road Championships.

The championships will be held in Uruguay from April 21-27 and will serve as a qualifier for the Jr Pan Am Games that will take place in Paraguay in August. 

The duo recently competed at the 2025 Powerade Potcakeman Triathlon at Jaws Beach where Roach was the top female finisher and Duncombe came in second overall in the men’s division.

BCF’s secretary general Barron ‘Turbo’ Musgrove said the federation wants to ensure that their top cyclists get a chance to qualify for these prestigious meets. “This is just an opportunity for them to measure themselves and to qualify for the Junior Pan Am,” Musgrove said. “From that, we are looking forward to the Caribbean Elite Junior Championships in Barbados on August 28 and the elite and uner-23 championships in Belize in October.

“All of these are events that we want to use to expose our athletes for more international events as we prepare for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. These events will only improve the performances of our cyclists.”

Countries expected to compete are Uruguay, El Salvador, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Grenada, Dominica, United States of America, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago, Venezuela, Bolivia, Cayman Islands and Chile.

The team for the first time will be managed and coached by women, including Duncombe’s mother Launa Maxis, who will also serve as a coach along with Lori Roach, the mother of Roach, who will be her assistant coach.

“I feel very confident in being the manager of this team. It’s an opportunity to look forward to because it’s a different level of elites and pros competing,” said Maxis, who served previously as the manager of the Grand Bahama Cycling team for the Bahamas Games.

“I look forward to Launy and Kami doing very good. Launry trains with Mr (Kenton) Roker here in Grand Bhama on daily basis, they train every morning at 5 am. Kami is now in college and she’s been doing her training in the United States.”

The team will be leaving from Nassau on Monday, April 21 to Panama and then on to Uruguay for the competition that feature the time trails on Wednesday, April 23 and the road race on Friday, April 25th.

“They have to travel with two different bikes, a time trail and a road bike,” Maxis said. “It will be interesting to see how they travel with their bikes, take it down and put it back up.”

Roach, the current women’s under-23 national champion and winner of the women’s segment of the Tour de Grand Bahama, will compete in the women’s under-23 division.

“I want to race well and finish in the top half,” said Roach, a 19-eay-old student at the University of Tampa. “I feel good. I’ve been training, but it’s a big event so I’m a bit nervous and excited to compete.

“I just need to hydrate and eat well and go there with a positive mindset. I’m looking forward to meeting new people and racing against the international competition.”

This is the third international competition for Roach, who last competed in a triathlon at the Youth Commonwealth Games in Trinidad & Tobago two years ago.

“I know it will be similar to the Youth Commonwealth Games where the countries will be sending their top cyclists,” Roach said. “So I’m sure the competition will be very good because we are all trying to qualify for the Jr Pan Am Games.

“I’m just excited because I’m going to a new place as well, so I really want to see how well I can compete against the rest of the field. I know it’s going to be a challenge, but I’m up for it.”

Duncombe, the men’s junior national champion and the junior champion of the Tour de Grand Bahama, will be entered in the youth 17-18 division.

“I just want to go there and do my best. This is the first time I will get to compete in this meet,” said Duncombe, a 17-year-old 11th grader at Sunland Christian School in Grand Bahama.

“I will try to go there3 and place or try to win, but I’m just going to give it my best and whatever I come out with, I will be satisfied.”

In preparation for the championships, Duncombe said he just returned from the United States where he got to get some new equipment that he hopes to make good use of it.

“I know it’s a very long race, so I know I will have to optimize as I work on my distance riding,” said Duncombe, who has already competed in about 6-8 international events, including a triathlon last month in Cuba where he placed 13th.