Tyler Smith announced his arrival on the international cycling scene in a big way in Paramaribo, Suriname, yesterday, capturing two silver medals at his maiden Junior Caribbean Cycling Championships.

The 16-year-old underlined his potential after finishing runner-up in the individual time-trial and road race while competing in the juvenile category.

It was an outstanding feat that surpassed Smith’s expectations.

“I wasn’t really sure what to expect going into the race because I had not competed at an international level for cycling before,” Smith said.

“I kind of had an idea of where my fitness was and I was hoping to be towards the front. But coming away with two silver medals surpassed my expectations coming into it and, overall, it was a good experience.”

Smith added: “There were some strong guys out here from other Caribbean countries and the course was extremely hot; it was a challenging course.

“The course was flat but there was one big hill that played a big role in it and I just tried my best to get a good result and I ended up doing that.

“For the time-trial, all you can do is just go hard for it for 16 kilometres, while the road race was a little bit different because I knew there would be a lot of attacks — and that’s exactly what it was.

“We really weren’t sure what type of conditions we would be facing in the road race and there was a lot of stuff that we had to adapt to along the way.

“There was a section that was cobblestone for like eight kilometres and it was extremely hot as well.

“I knew I wouldn’t be able to win the race in a sprint, so if I had any chance, I would have to go on a breakaway, and me and a guy from Trinidad ended up breaking away from the main group with about 15 kilometres to go.”

Smith was ultimately denied the gold medal after his Trinidadian rival beat him in a sprint to the finish line.

The son of experienced triathlete Karen Smith competed in the juvenile road race along with Bermuda team-mates Christian Oatley and Shomari Steede. Their finishing positions were unavailable at press time owing to a protest.

Representing in Bermuda in the junior category road race were Daniel Oatley and Justin Ferreira, who placed thirteenth and 20th.

Gabriella Arnold, the Bermuda captain, finished fifth carrying the Island’s hopes alone in the female road race.

On Saturday, Christian Oatley finish thirteenth in the juvenile individual time-trial, while in the junior male category, Daniel Oatley finished an impressive fifth and Justin Ferreira twelfth.

Arnold, fresh off a solid debut for Marian University at the US Collegiate Track Championships, was seventh in the girls’ time-trial over the 16-kilometre loop.

“Bermuda should be extremely proud of all of these junior riders because without exception they rode extremely well in really tough conditions,” Greg Hopkins, the team coach, said.

Peter Dunne, the president of the Bermuda Bicycle Association, added: “As the level of this competition increases year over year, it is satisfying to see Bermuda’s junior cyclists not only remain competitive, but achieve such high results.”