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• Llori Sharpe claims historic gold for Jamaica at the 2024 Elite Caribbean Cycling Championships

   Jamaican cyclist Llori Sharpe made history this weekend, powering to gold in the Elite Women’s Road Race at the 2024 Elite Caribbean Cycling Championships, marking the first time a Jamaican woman has claimed the Caribbean Champion title at the elite level in road racing.

  The two-day championship event was held in Georgetown, Guyana, and saw the Jamaican contingent, led by Coach Carlton Simmonds, deliver mixed results across several competitive races. The team comprised four riders: Sharpe, Andrew Ramsay, Obrian Madourie, and Damaine Douglas.

  Day one saw Sharpe and Madourie in action in the Individual Time Trial, covering 18km and 36km, respectively. Sharpe narrowly missed out on a podium finish, coming in fourth and missing bronze by just 30 seconds. Madourie finished seventh in his category, putting in a commendable effort.

  However, it was on day two that Sharpe cemented her place in the history books. Competing in the Elite Women’s Road Race, she bided her time before surging ahead in the final kilometre of the 67km course, distancing herself from the pack to secure the gold medal. Bermuda's Gabriella Arnold claimed silver, while Berenice Paul of Guadeloupe rounded out the podium with a bronze.

  This victory marked a remarkable improvement over Sharpe's silver-medal finish at the 2023 championships in Guadeloupe and set a new standard for Jamaican women in Caribbean road cycling.

  While Sharpe shone on day two, other members of the Jamaican team faced challenges. Douglas, competing as an under-23 rider in the grueling 155km event, was dealt a setback after a flat tyre forced him to fall behind the main peloton, finishing in 12th place. Ramsay finished 24th in the Elite Men’s event, and unfortunately, Madourie did not complete the race.

  Cory Williams of Belize won the men’s elite title, with Jesus Cespedes from the Dominican Republic and Guyana's John Briton securing second and third, respectively.

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• Flawless victory: Ja's Cavalier maul Dom Rep's Moca FC 7-0 to book spot in Caribbean Cup final

  Jamaica’s reigning Premier League champions Cavalier FC booked a spot in the Concacaf Caribbean Cup final for a second consecutive year after they mauled Dominican Republic’s Moca FC 7-0 in a lopsided second leg semifinal tie at the National Stadium on Wednesday.

  A hat-trick from Suriname's Shaquille Stein (6th, 45+3, 62nd) and a brace from Trinidad and Tobago’s Kaile Auvray (1st, 51st) did most of the damage for Cavalier, while Christopher Ainsworth (39th) and Dwayne Atkinson (79th) also got in on the act.

  With the win, Cavalier, who lost last year’s final to Suriname’s Robinhood, now have a shot at redemption as they await the winner of the second semi-final between Dominican Republic’s Cibao FC and Haiti’s Real Hope in the showpiece. By virtue of making the final, Cavalier also secured a return to next year’s Concacaf Champions Cup.

  Head coach Rudolph Speid was pleased but also surprised at the margin of victory, especially after being held to a goalless stalemate in the first leg.

  “It was very pleasing. We didn’t expect to win by such a large margin; however, this is our third time playing them, so they aren’t strangers to us,” Speid said.

  Cavalier wasted little time to make their intentions known as Auvray found the opener shortly after kickoff when he drove home a firm left-footer from a distance.

  The Jamaican team struck again before Moca could regroup as Stein expertly headed home from Jalmaro Calvin’s weighted cross five minutes later.

  Ainsworth extended the lead when he converted from the penalty spot as Moca FC’s custodian Miguel Baez was left flat-footed.

  Stein then notched his second and Cavalier’s fourth with another comfortable finish as they went to the break 4-0 up.

  With the writing on the wall, frustration set in, and Moca lost Baez and Jesus Correa to straight red cards and, as such, contested the second half with nine players.

  Cavalier showed no mercy and made full use of the numerical advantage when Auvray completed his brace with another well-struck effort from outside the 18-yard box.

  Stein completed his hat-trick soon after to move his tally to seven so far in the tournament, before Atkinson added his name to the scoresheet from the penalty spot 11 minutes from time.

  Despite the loss, Moca FC still stand a chance of making the Champions Cup, provided they come out tops in the third-place playoff.

• All to play for: Ja's Cavalier, Dom Rep's Moca FC meet in decisive Caribbean Cup second-leg semis tie

  With nothing separating them so far, Jamaica’s Cavalier FC and their Dominican Republic counterparts Moca FC will have all to play for in the decisive second leg of their Concacaf Caribbean Cup semifinal tie at National Stadium on Wednesday.

  The teams, who will meet for the third time in Caribbean Cup history, played out a goalless stalemate in the Dominican Republic last week, which means it is anybody’s game to take when the ball gets rolling at 7:00pm.

  Prior to their goalless scoreline, Cavalier won the first meeting between the two 3-0 last year at Sabina Park. With that in mind, Cavalier should again start slight favourites, especially being at home.

  However, the reigning Jamaica Premier League (JPL) champion will have to tread cautiously as Moca will be riding high on the fact that the away goal rule is in effect. That means a 1-1 draw would be enough to see Moca FC through to the Caribbean Cup final and, by extension, next year’s Concacaf Champions Cup.

  Should the contest again end scoreless, then extra time and penalties, if necessary, will decide the winner.

  While declaring that his players are ready for the challenge, Cavalier’s Head coach, Rudolph Speid, is wary of the away goal rule.

  “I don’t think it’s an advantage for us, because the away goal rule is in effect and we didn’t score one goal away. So, if they score one, we’ll have to score two. So I’m not really pleased, and we don’t have an advantage at this point,” Speid said.

  “Moca is a good team, and you can see they have a lot of structure. They have players from Argentina and from all over South America, so they are not an easy team. Those players are well versed in the art of playing, so we have to give them a lot of respect,” he added.

  Dwayne ‘Busy’ Atkinson is again expected to be the point man in Cavalier’s attacking line, which has tallied 27 goals across last year and this year’s editions and stands as the team with the best offensive power in the history of the tournament.

  They also placed second last year when they lost to Robinhood of Suriname and will be hoping to go one better on this occasion.

  For Moca FC, this campaign is about seeking redemption after they were eliminated at this same stage last year by eventual champion Robinhood. They take an unbeaten record into Wednesday’s decisive leg and will be intent on keeping that record intact.