By Tamica Garnett
National cyclists Christopher Holder and Marica Dick with a bronze medal apiece, ensured the Guyana contingent did not come back empty handed from the Fifth Annual Youth Caribbean Cycling Championships held in Aruba on August 7-8.
Holder earned his medal riding in the junior category of the 80km race while Dick earned her medal in the 60km female equivalent.
Kurt La Rose, who participating in the juvenile category, placed seventh from 29 participants while Neil Reece also participated in the junior category alongside Holder.
The team finished third out of 11 countries, officials of the Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF) declared at a press conference held at the Water Chris, Waterloo Street yesterday.
This was the second time that a Guyanese team had attended the event following Guyana’s inaugural participation in 2007 in Barbados.
Speaking at the press conference yesterday GCF public relations officer Julian Alves said the small number of participants impacted on the number of medals the team was able to win.
“Most teams had at least six cyclists in their events. We had to deal with having only one or two per event. And this is something that the Guyana Cycling Federation will have to seriously look at when planning meets like this abroad, we have to get more numbers if we are to bring home the gold medals,” Alves asserted.
Manager of the team Terry Pemberton said the cyclists cooperated fully.
“There was so much cooperation with them when they were at the hotel, they lived like family and it was amazing to see them that way and I must commend them for that they gave Guyana a lot of kudos for their behavior,” Pemberton said.
She highlighted, however, that if Guyana wanted gold medals then the relative input needed to be sowed.
“Look at Marica, she is a future star in cycling. Yes, there are a few edges that we have to smooth out but she has the potential. But for her to give Guyana gold, Guyana has to help her. Sending her to ride outside without the support is like asking her to face defeat. And between the federation and the Guyana National Sports Commission they need to work on this,” Pemberton declared.
Brian Allen, Chairman of the Racing Committee and GCF vice president, said that he was very happy with the performance by the cyclists and identified the diminishing effect that the minute numbers had on the team’s morale.
“We are very happy and excited about their performance. Coming out of the discussions with the coach and manager we hear how much better we would have performed if we had stronger numbers,” Allen reiterated.
“We went up there with a very inexperienced team, the only one that went up there with experience of the championships was Holder, all the other guys were young in age and in experience. And when you look at their performance I think they did really well and I would like to openly congratulate them on behave of the federation and on behalf of myself,” Allen said.
Alves said the federation was looking into a five-year developmental plan which would include the possibility of the federation erecting a velodrome.
Alves said the project would require the assistance of the Government of Guyana.
“We have a lot of individuals both in and out of Guyana who are willing to contribute their expertise and their time and finances towards the erection of a velodrome.
“All we are asking is for the government to help us in identifying the necessary land and we will take it from there,” Alves stated.