 The dust is still settling following another successful staging of the Jamaica International Cycling Classic, which saw Team Medellin out of Colombia taking the island's western side by storm and claiming top honors at the prestigious three-day road race event. Lennox Aldrin has the details. By finishing 15th overall on stage 3, Wilma Paredes Zapata from Team Medellin was crowned the overall general classification winner of the Jamaica International Cycling Classic following the three-day action in Montego Bay recently. Paredes Zapata secured the title after winning Friday's opening Rose Hall Loop and then placed eighth in Saturday's Discover Bay and Back Run to finish with an overall time of 6 hours 52.40 to beat out teammate Walter Vargas who totaled 6 hours 54.39. Gabriel Mendes from Team WBHB secured the overall third-place spot after also clocking 6 hours 54.39. O'Shaen Williams from Cornell Cycling Club was the best placed Jamaican after his 6 hours 56.11 was good enough for 10th place overall. In the meantime, the Colombians dominated all three days of the event, Christian Tamayo winning the 70-mile Discover Bay and Back leg as well as Sunday's Duncan's 54-mile Loop and Back stage. Paredes Zapata also made it a clean sweep in the King of the Mountain race after claiming two of the three stages. Following their domination, Team Medellin easily took the team title which was pleasing to head coach Julian Velasquez. We are very happy first of all with staying here in Jamaica. For us it's first time raising Jamaica for our team and I very love with the country and with the people and very special win the three stages and the overall classification here. Now normally I am very happy with the organization of the race, very friendly with us and this is the reason we come here to Jamaica. This is our first time here and I love it and we want to come back next year. So joining us to talk about the event's third staging, organizer Carlton Simmons of the Simmons High Velocity Cycling Club. Carlton, welcome back to the Sportsmax zone. We were discussing with you ahead of the event, the preview of the event and it's now over and the Colombian is on top. How was it? I think we had a well-run organized event over the three days and I'm happy that they were able to make it. I think they represent what it is that we're looking for in terms of how the structure that they have is a team so I think for the locals and the regional guys I think they get to see firsthand how a team at that level operates during a race. Is Columbia powerhouse in world cycling now because I remember some years ago that the top Barbadian Barry Ford, I think he had a training base in Columbia at one point which was many years ago before his retirement and I'm just getting the feeling that Columbia are doing something right with cycling. I mean Columbia is one of the top spaces in the Palamerican region, I mean a lot of those guys are matriculated to pro teams that race in the Tour de France. I mean Eagle Bernal is one such person that is from that space and a race in that space so they produce a lot of top flight road riders that do well, I mean even in the cycling space track wise they are doing excellent at the moment. Yeah and of course congratulations against the period is but I'm going to ask about of course the Caribbean turnout and our Caribbean athletes were you surprised with the number of them that came out and were you happy with their performances? These guys tend to want to come to Jamaica, from time to time they tend to or to say pass through so I think the event itself will see a lot more of them coming next year as national teams versus trying to come to be a part of composite teams so the region itself I think they want to be a part of it, know that they have seen it and we have reached so the response has been great. Yeah and I want you to talk to us a bit about the importance of this Jamaica Cycling Classic if you want to get the sport recognized you know everywhere. I mean it's very important the ratification that it has now speaks volume not just for the rider itself but for the teams who participate that are continental teams that are federation teams because what it does now it brings credence to those teams and to those federations because not only give points for the riders themselves but it also give points for the teams to maintain their ranking within the UCI so it's it's huge and all front for everyone. So I know it's a big deal for those competing it's of course for those who are tuned in and watching the race but what about the turnout and the spectators did you get the response that you wanted? Yes and no because of the nature of it so the the dynamics of it next there is something that we have to look at to see how we can create like hot spots along the course to bring people out to create like a carnival in those spaces because when you look at when it goes through the town of Duncan's that's a very exciting space because people came out to watch and see what's happening and they're very excited and seeing it coming through the town so we are now looking at instead of doing three loops come next year and that will extend the intensity in the racing and also the mileage for that stage so those are some of the things that we will be looking into for next year's event. Greatest area of growth in the three years that we've seen the Jamaica Cycling Classic? It has it has I mean it moved from two teams on the first year to four in the second year no to six and I mean it would have been even more this year but some of the teams had issues with visas some had financial issues but again because of the late start to it in terms of the invitations they weren't able to you know come up with that type of funding to be here so next year it is looking better a little bit better. You're planning from now. It has to start now. There is no doubt that the Jamaica Cycling Classic has a buzz about it every year that it comes around there is that level of anticipation but how do you keep the momentum as you look to build the sport and and build your local cadre of cyclists build and improve? It's about having more events leading up to it where you get the guys coming out to be training really hard and to stay sharp because the event itself is hard and the quality that will be coming to it is going to be at a higher level so it's getting more racing locally before. Why are we not having that? I'm one of the big problem is sponsorship. Getting corporate to come on board to to see the vision and to want to be a part of it so again from our standpoint as a club is how we sell the product to corporate to get them to come on board and to see the vision. Can you do a better job in that regard? Yes we can I mean there's always room to improve getting it to people going to people presenting the product and letting them understand what the end result of it is all about. What is the end result of it all about because that's an important point you make? It's using the event to highlight the sport highlight the country getting youngsters involved into it because they're seeing it and getting parents to buy into the sport because unlike track and field we just need a spike on a shot and then cycling is a little bit more on the expensive side so it's it's a buying and it's how you get parents and corporate to buy into it that will help you to to move. Yeah and as we wrap the event now UCI endorsed International Cycling Union and how did the governing body feel about this last product? The conversation that we had with the chief commerce here after the event he was pleased with what he saw I mean he was kind of surprised with the quick turnaround based upon when we got the ratification and then jumping to get the thing moving so he had some things to say about how we need to maneuver around some other things that we need to put in place and he says don't be too hard on ourselves with the criticisms but just to use those criticisms to help to develop the the product even better come next year. All right Carlton Simmons thanks for linking with us here on the sports max zone as we review what happened with the International Jamaica Cycling Classic growing every year and we expect for 2025 it will be the best we have seen up to that point. We'll be back with more on the sports max zone after this stay with us.