The Bermuda cycling team made up for the disappointment of not winning any medals at the previous NatWest Island Games in Jersey in 2015, with some superb medal-winning performances in Gotland, Sweden, last week.

The women’s team seized gold in the criterium and silver in the road race, while the men’s team claimed silver in the criterium. Zoenique Williams won silver in the individual road race while team-mate Nicole Mitchell picked up the bronze. Gabriella Arnold and Alyssa Rowse were the other members of the gold medal-winning team.

The men’s team of Dominique Mayho, Matthew Oliveira and Kaden Hopkins delivered some strong performances to place second in the criterium as Oliveira placed third to take the bronze while Mayho (fifth) and Hopkins (seventh) also had top ten finishes. The fourth member, Che’quan Richardson, did not finish.

“The competition was pretty high; I’d say higher than the Caribbean Cycling Championships,” said Williams, who also competed at the Pan American Games in Toronto in 2015.

“Our team worked well together, a lot of attacking, but we definitely weren’t just sitting in, we definitely made ourselves known during the race.

“We were very happy, despite the racing conditions — very cold and wet. We felt very proud singing our national anthem on the podium.”

Williams was leading on the final bend ahead in the road race when she was pipped to the finish by Tara Ferguson of the Isle of Man.

“In the last 200 metres before the finish line there was a corner, so you either had to be first out of the corner or not much further back because everybody was jockeying for positions,” Williams said.

“I was first out of the corner and the Isle of Man rider jumped on my wheel and hopped around me at the finish line. Accidents always happen at the finish but I wasn’t worried about crashing out, I was basically worried about my position into the corner.

“I was first out of the corner and had to maintain my speed and hold it to the finish line. It was a pretty long way and that’s when she got me.

“That’s racing, I’m not disappointed. It just so happened that I was first out of the corner and she was on my wheel. If it had been the other way around I’m sure it would have been a different result.”

Mitchell finished third, Rowse sixth and Arnold fourteenth in the road race, which helped Bermuda win silver.

“Before we got to the corner I was aware where all my team-mates were, I didn’t really see Gabby, but Nicole was to the left and Alyssa was in the middle,” Williams said.

“Nicole was telling me she had to weave and bob to fight for her third place.”

Good performances by Bermuda’s women enabled them to take gold in the criterium where Williams picked up silver with her second-place finish while Rowse was seventh, Mitchell ninth and Arnold eleventh.

“It’s a very promising future for cycling, especially with the juniors,” said Williams, referring to Rowse, Oliveira and Hopkins.

“The men did exceptionally well, they had some pro riders to deal with and it is pretty good that those young boys were able to stick it out.

“On the crit on the Friday I was so proud of them. I felt like the mother cheering them on.”