Roraima Bikers Club cyclist, Alonzo Greaves defeated his opponents in the National Sports Commission (NSC) sponsored 40-mile cycle road race yesterday at West Bank Demerara.
The race was the second of two races sponsored by the NSC and organised by national cycling coach, Hassan Mohamed as a prelude to this year’s Mashramani celebrations. The first was at the National Park circuit on Saturday. Yesterday’s race commenced from the Demerara Harbour Bridge at 09:00 hrs and proceeded to Bushy Park, East Bank Essequibo before returning to the Harbour Bridge for the finish.
Amidst the rainy conditions, which caused a spill with a few riders earlier in the race, Greaves held off a strong challenge from Geron Williams and Robin Persaud as the top three cyclists darted to the finish line on the final stretch.
Greaves finished in a time of one hour, 43 minutes and 26 seconds (1:43:26) to claim the top spot.
In addition to closely challenging Greaves for first place, Williams and Persaud also had their own battle for the second spot; a battle which Williams won, leaving Persaud to take third place.
Walter Grant-Stewart crossed the finish line fourth, while Marlon Williams and Eric Sankar snatched the fifth and sixth positions respectively. The 40-mile race also saw junior and veteran cyclists going head-to-head in their respective categories.
Paul DeNobrega was the winner of the junior category ahead of Kurt LaRose, second, while Raymond Newton sped away from second place finisher Kennard Lovell in the veterans’ race.
The top six finishers in the senior race as well as the first two juniors and first two veterans received prizes at the brief presentation ceremony that followed the race. Six prime prizes were also distributed to Sankar (3), Williams (1), Newton (1) and Persaud (1).
Filling in for Director of Sport, Neil Kumar, who was scheduled to be at the presentation, was Administrative Officer within the NSC, Gervy Harry.
Harry thanked the participants for coming out for the event and stated that he was “happy with the turnout.”
He further congratulated the winners and encouraged all who did not finish in the prize winning positions to deliver a better performance at the next race meet.
