There’s something about Emile Abraham that makes him a favourite with fans and opponents alike.
And in his hometown of Tobago, the 39-year-old cyclist might as well be king of the road.
On Saturday during the Tobago International Cycling Classic (TICC), Abraham rode a very smart race despite suffering a first-lap crash that left his leg bleeding. He re-entered the contest after a free lap, and took full advantage of home conditions to make a challenge for the stage victory.
He sat back and settled into the main peloton as riders tried, and failed, to build an insurmountable lead ahead of the rest of the field. Even as his team dwindled, until he was left with just one rider to support his victory bid, the US-based veteran kept pedaling on.
He picked his spot with ten of the 60 laps left, and opened out a 40-metre gap on the field before he was reeled back in, but with his knowledge of Scarborough’s Market Square circuit, Abraham made his move on the final lap that any other day would have seen him standing atop the podium. But the move, and perhaps the crash, cost him in the end as he was edged by no more than an inch as he crossed the finish line, Dominican Republic rider Rafael Meran squeezing by on the outside of the home favourite. Abraham admitted after that that he missed that reserve energy needed to finish.
Even more telling, after what would have been a big disappointment, were the reactions after the race. Fans cheered him on like he had won; competitors one by one reached in to shake his hand; there were hugs aplenty as the cyclist re-emerged to collect his prize. Meran too was thoroughly impressed by the older rider’s ability.
“When I saw Emile take the last corner, I told myself I have to be ahead at the last corner, because I know he is a very good sprinter.”
Abraham’s successes seem to have been built on his attitude towards others, and to his craft. As the Tobago-born rider put it: “I got determination man. I never give up. I’m a diehard, you know. Every day is another day. You can’t let bad things bring you down. You’ve got to think positive, you always got to think you’re going to come back, you always got to keep sticking at it.”
He is also quick to acknowledge everyone who stops to greet him or waves from distance, and Abraham says he is proud of that Tobago love.
“I love my people, my people love me,” he explained. “They feel the energy, they feel the love, and I was born here, I grew up here, this is my place, this is my people, and I’m really happy when they come out and support. It gives me the extra motivation.”
He hailed as “fabulous” the support from his family in the US, as well as his parents and relatives in Tobago, which he says keeps him on the bicycle.
But as the Pan American Games silver medalist (Rio de Janeiro, 2007), in the twilight of his career, recognises, all good things must come to an end.
“It’s getting closer and closer. Every year I keep pushing on, I’m director of Sportif and manager of team Predator Carbon Repair in the USA,” he noted.
“So I run the team and I’m working toward management. But I’m still racing and still performing, so I’m going to keep it going maybe another year or two until my legs can’t go anymore.”