André Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter

President of the Jamaica Cycling Federation Arthur Tenn is expecting the Commonwealth Games, which gets underway shortly in Glasgow, Scotland, to aid his association's efforts to advance the sport locally.

Tenn along with all five members of Jamaica's cycling team to the multi-discipline event Dahlia Palmer, Bianca Hernould, Marloe Rodman, Oneil Samuels and Robert Barnes, as well as coach and former national representative Ricardo Lynch, left the island yesterday for the July 23-August 3 event.

Also leaving the island yesterday were officials from the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association and several local-based track and field athletes as well as members of the boxing delegation.

Tenn, whose administration was given the green light in April of this year, says that his focus is to lift the sport in Jamaica, with the Commonwealth Games and possible successes there, providing the perfect platform for greater interest.

"The competition at the games is at a world class level in our sport. Great Britain and Australia are the power countries in cycling and they will all be there, so the Commonwealth Games provides a great platform for us to advance the sport locally,"Tenn said.

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On the female side, Palmer will saddle up for the 500m, Sprints and Keirin events with Bianca Hernould competing in the Scratch, Pursuit, Time Trial and Road Race categories.

Marloe Rodman and Oneil Samuels will both feature in the Scratch, Points and Road Race competitions with Robert Barnes carving his name in history as Jamaica's first representative in the Mountain Cross competition. He will also ride in the Road Race event.

Tenn is expecting all the riders to give a good account of themselves but is particularly pleased about the country's entry in the Mountain Cross event, which he believes can really take off in popularity among casual riders.

"We have two females and three males and for the first time we are entering the mountain bike competition so that's new for Jamaica but I think he'll give a good performance and then the other two male riders, I am also expecting them to do well," Tenn said.

"Mountain biking is a new sport overall but it has become very popular worldwide especially for recreational riders and I think for Jamaica we have the terrain and the trails and I think we can advance or progress from the sport," said Tenn. "Even for eco - tourism I think mountain biking would be great for our country."

Tenn is also excited about Lynch's appointment as coach of the team and believes his experience as a competitor at this level will be vital in Glasgow.

"He (Lynch) has been working with some of the athletes since January. We just started but with our experience, we are looking forward to developing cycling much more," said Tenn. "It helps having his experience and it's a way of giving back to the country and the younger riders are very eager to learn from someone with as much experience and success."

The cycling competition will get under way on July 24.