– But Team Coco’s Jaime Ramirez is the overall winner
By Emmerson Campbell
Gold medalist at last month’s Junior Caribbean Cycling Championships, Paul DeNobrega riding for Team Coco, fittingly brought the curtain down yesterday with a victory in the final stage of this year’s sixth annual ‘Ride for Life’ five-stage event to complete four days of dominance by Team Coco.
The 18 year-old DeNobrega won the 60-mile event which commenced at 8.30am at Kara Kara, Linden and ended at Homestretch Avenue in two hours, 35, minutes and 58 seconds.
He led his Team Coco’s teammates Antonio Alarcon (third place overall) and Jaime Ramirez (overall winner) into the top three.
Eric Sankar, Paul Choo-Wee- Nam and Surinamese Murvim Arumjo finished the stage in fourth, fifth and sixth places respectively.
The event started at a fair pace and all of the 49 starters were still together until Andre Simmons staged a solo break at Amelia’s Ward Police Station. Several more breaks were staged with numerous riders and Simmons was soon caught.
The cyclists were all bunched up once again until Alarcon and Ramirez staged a two-man assault on the pack. Only DeNobrega responded and pursued the duo eventually catching up with them some 200 metres later.
The three teammates were valiantly pursued by the chase peloton; but teamwork enabled them to open a two-minute lead by the time they were at Hauraruni.
DeNobrega, Alarcon and Ramirez journeyed together until they were 50 metres from the finish line. At this point Ramirez and Alarcon stopped pedaling and allowed DeNobrega to cross the finish line and finish second overall.
The top 10 finishers overall for the five-stage road race were Ramirez, nine hours,46 minutes and 51 seconds, DeNobrega, 9.57.01s, Alarcon,9.58.07s, Jeffrey,9.59.59s, Matthews,10.00.42s, Hodge, 10.05.19s, Sankar, 10.05.25s, Choo Wee Nam, 10.05.36s, Arumjo 10.05.37s and Ricketts 10.06.02s.
Five riders of the Miami, Florida-based Team Coco club occupied the top six places, a testament to their dominance on the roadways for the past four days.
The four-day event required the riders to cover 266 miles across the three counties of Guyana. The tour attracted 67 starters with 15 of them from foreign countries including the USA, Barbados, Trinidad, England, Suriname, Colombia, St Lucia and Aruba.
The first stage that commenced on October 11 at Corriverton and ended at New Amsterdam (46 miles) was won by Ramirez in one hour, 39 minutes and 17 seconds.
The second stage on the same day Rosignol to Georgetown (60 miles) was also won in a record time (two hours, 11 minutes and 31 seconds) by Jeffrey
The third stage that was the shortest Wales to Parika (35 miles) was won by Geron Williams in a time of 59 minutes and 54 seconds.
The penultimate stage Supenaam to Suddie (62 miles) was won in a record time (two hours, 20 minutes and 38 seconds) by Dominguez.
A Team Coco’s rider won each stage except the third stage.
At the closing ceremony at the National Cultural Centre, the top 10 finishers along with the top three juniors and veterans received their trophies and other prizes.
Speaking at the closing ceremony, Minister of Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony thanked the local and foreign riders for competing in the event and mentioned that he was pleased to see the overall times as well as stage timings improving. Anthony said he noted that the overseas competition has elevated the level of the local cyclists as this year’s 10th place time of 10 hours, six minutes and two seconds was superior to 2010’s first place overall time of 10 hours,18 minutes and 26 seconds which was set by Antonio Quintero of Team Coco.
DeNobrega, Jeffrey and Raul Leal were the top juniors while Kennard Lovell, Junior Niles and Ian Jackson were the top veterans in that order.
The Ride for Life tour of Guyana five-stage cycle race is a collaborative effort of the Ministries of Health and Sport and the Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF).
