Says Emmerson Campbell
This year’s sixth annual ‘Ride for Life’ five-stage road race cycling event which concluded on Sunday was without a doubt the best one so far.
Not only were several records shattered but the quality of the event was superior to the previous Tours of Guyana.
National Cycling Coach Hassan Mohamed and his team must be commended for a successful staging of the grueling event.
The four-day race required the riders to cover 266 miles across the three counties of Guyana.
The tour attracted a record 76 registrants with 15 of them from foreign countries including the USA, Barbados, Trinidad, England, Suriname, Colombia, St Lucia and Aruba.
The Tour, which was won by Colombian, Jaime Ramirez, representing the Miami-based unit, Team Coco, certainly displayed team racing, something local riders need to learn to do.
Team Coco dominated the event with a rider winning every stage except the third and occupied five of the top six positions overall.
With foreign riders invited to compete, the event has been transformed to the signature cycling event which has seen steady improvement over the years.
This year’s overall winner, Ramirez, finished the event in nine hours, 46 minutes and 51 seconds while last year’s overall winner, Michael Larsen of the California-based Passo Prime Beef team, took the top honours in 10 hours, 20 minutes and 39 seconds.
National cyclists Geron Williams, who won the event in 2009, placed 23rd overall but completed the five stages in 10 hours, 18 minutes and six seconds, a testament to the improvement of the Tour of Guyana.
The event also saw Team Coco owner Ian Davis, taking Guyana’s junior team of Paul DeNobrega (second overall), Raynauth Jeffrey (fourth overall), Raul Leal (14th overall) and Michael Anthony (15th overall) under his wing.
Davis outfitted the juniors with the Team Coco gear and even allowed them to cross the finish line ahead of the professional riders on the team.
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 —the shortest — Wales to Parika (35 miles) was won by 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 Cuban Ivan Dominguez from Team Coco while the final stage from Kara Kara, Linden to Homestretch Avenue was won by DeNobrega, in two hours, 35, minutes and 58 seconds.
The top 10 finishers overall for the five-stage road race were Ramirez, nine hours,46 minutes and 51 seconds, DeNobrega, 9.57.01s,Colombian Antonio Alarcon (Team Coco),9.58.07s, Jeffrey,9.59.59s, Barbadian, Darren Matthews (Team Coco) ,10.00.42s, Aruban Gino Hodge, 10.05.19s, Eric Sankar, 10.05.25s, Paul Choo Wee Nam, 10.05.36s, Murvim Arumjo (Suriname)10.05.37s and Moses Ricketts (Suriname)10.06.02s.
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).
