A Bittersweet Race

Photo: Alfred Rooks

The duo of Enzo Edmonds and Ashlin Barry were in the lead and dominating the Madison race at the Next Generation Apeldoorn track meet (for 17-18 Juniors) when disaster struck. Barry flatted, dropped down to the infield where where a technical issue caused laps of the race to pass before Barry was able to go back up on the boards (slang for the steeply banked, wooden velodrome). The two 16-year-olds rallied to win the final two sprints of the eight total, but the laps lost on the infield doomed their overall chances for the victory.

The Next Generation meet is considered the most important Junior 17-18 track race outside of the World Championships, where all the major track cycling powers, Germany, UK, Netherlands, Belgium, etc., field their top selections for the races. Ashlin Barry was the standout star of the meet, winning almost every event he entered, drawing the admiration of all the team managers and a visit from a Bora-Hansgrohe talent scout. The “Can-Am Kid” (his American mother is an Olympic Silver medalist, (TT) and his Canadian father, Michael, was eighth in the Beijing Olympic Road Race) was the talk of the Belgian Junior racing scene last summer, winning races in Flanders, alone, with 5-minute leads. A true thoroughbred.

Enzo, who 18-months ago was incapable of finishing the 15-16 Junior National Championship Road race, has made astounding progression during his metamorphosis from pure track sprinter to road racer. Every time he is thrown into the deep bath he surfaces and finds his way to the top. An amazingly resilient and adaptable young man.

Enzo and Ashlin were the two youngest racers at the meet, racing in their first real 17-18 category race of that level. Their brilliant teamwork, matched with their perfectly complimentary racing qualities, have seasoned observers, such as Bjorn De Roo, who was there with his family cheering them on, predicting big things. “This is a team that could contend for a World’s podium. Perhaps this year is a bit early (they are considered ‘first-years’ in 17-18 category) but as second-years with more experience, and stronger engines from road racing, they could come very close.”