By Calvin Roberts
Roraima Cycle Club’s Darren Allen outsprinted Continental Wheelers’ Geron Williams whilst Anguilla-based Guyanese Godfrey Pollydore held onto his lead to edge out the fast finishing Junior Niles when the 26th Annual Independence Three-Stage cycle road race climaxed with the final stage yesterday morning.
Allen completed the gruelling 62-mile journey from Kara Kara to Homestretch Avenue in a time of 2:58:06.
Some 24 cyclists faced the starter and Allen sprinted ahead of Williams to win the stage whilst Pollydore, who had a two-second advantage over Niles going into the final stage, still managed to cling onto his lead to win in an overall time of 7:20:14 and claim his second three stage race after winning his first three years ago.
However, it was Allen who stole the spotlight in the final stage of the event organized by national cycling coach Hassan Mohammed and sponsored by the National Sports Commission as part of Guyana’s 32nd Independence anniversary.
Having to brave some heavy and at times light showers during their journey on the Linden Highway, Allen and Warren (40) Mc Kay broke away from the peloton shortly after they had passed the Nut Farm maintaining a distance of approximately one mile over the peloton that included Pollydore, Niles, Robin Persaud and stages one and two winners John Charles and Gordon Kennedy respectively amongst others.
At the brief presentation ceremony held at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) and chaired by Director of Sport, Neil Kumar, chairman of the NSC Conrad Plummer, congratulated the organisers for pulling off another fantastic event whilst at the same time sending out a challenge to all stake holders in the sport of cycling.
“I must say congratulations to the organisers for pulling off such a wonderful event. To the cyclists who participated, I extend congratulations to you too for without you this success would not have been possible. I would like however, to challenge the Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF) along with the NSC and the stake holders in the sport of cycling to ensure that after such events as these, a debriefing session is held to assess where we are, what we have achieved and what needs to be done as we seek to take and develop the sport of cycling,” Plummer stated.
Minister of Culture Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony, who was also present at the ceremony, urged the GCF to come up with new and innovative plans to attract younger competitors to the sport of cycling.
“We have to come up with new and innovative ways to attract new competitors to the sport. We want to add to the sport in whatever way we can as we don’t want it to be a stagnant sport here in Guyana.
“There must come a day when we have thousands of cyclists at a starting line for an illustrious event here in Guyana.”
Reflecting on his statement made at the presentation ceremony for the inaugural five stage event held late last year, Dr. Anthony reminded the cyclists on his dream of having a race from Georgetown to Lethem and gave the assurance that such a race would be a reality as preparations are already on the cards.
“I am working feverishly to ensure that the Georgetown to Lethem cycle race becomes a reality in the not too distant future. It would be a dream come true as we seek to expand the boundaries of cycling here in Guyana. During the five stage meet, some of our cyclists may have visited Essequibo for the first time and the response we got from there was heartening. That is why, we will be taking a race to Lethem in our efforts to spread the sport around Guyana,” Dr. Anthony stated.
Mohammed took the time to thank the cyclists, his support team, the police and the media for the part they played to make the event the success it was.
Williams won the Junior champion title and along with Ian ‘Dumb Boy’ Jackson (veteran) received a trophy and cash prize, whilst the top six finishers received cash prizes with the top three receiving trophies.
Meanwhile, some cyclists who participated in the event and finished in the top 10 were venting their frustration at not being rewarded for their efforts.
“When we participate overseas, we are given some sort of finance once we place in the top 10 and at times the top 15 minimum. We understand the work the GCF is doing to keep the sport of cycling alive, but if they want to attract more cyclists to the starting line, more needs to be done in terms of the number of cyclists who receive awards at the end of the event. Gone are the days when the top six finishers receive financial rewards for their placing.”
