Star cyclist, Raynauth ‘Obeah Man’ Jeffrey rode like a man possessed yesterday, lapping all but three of the 38 starters to emphatically win the feature 35-lap event of the eighth annual Diamond Mineral Water sponsored 11-race cycle programme.
In windy conditions at the National Park, Jeffrey, 18, stopped the clock at one hour, 15 minutes and one second.
So dominant was Jeffrey’s third victory that he rode the last 20 laps with at least 600 metres lead on his nearest rival.
The bronze medalist at last year’s Junior Caribbean Cycling Championships also carted off five of the eight sprint prizes.
Jeffrey led Paul Choo-Wee-Nam, Wazim Gafoor, winner of the other three sprint prizes and Mario King in lapping the rest of the starters.
His team Coco’s clubmates, Paul DeNobrega and Raul Leal placed fifth and sixth respectively.
The event started off at a fast pace with the top four separating from the field from as early as the second lap.
Several sets of riders staged valiant pursuits to catch the leaders but Jeffrey, Choo-Wee-Nam, Gafoor and King rode in tandem at a fever pitch pace to steadily increase their lead.
In lap 14, the lead had ballooned almost to an entire lap when Jeffrey changed gears and threw team work out the window by staging a one-man assault on the entire field.
One lap later, Jeffrey led the top four in lapping the field and consistently increased his lead. The national rider was on course to break the park record but riding alone for 20 laps unchallenged was his undoing.
Jhonnick LaRose won the BMX boys’ 12-to-14 years, three-lap race ahead of Bryton John and Rawle Small respectively while Shamar Grannum took top honours in the BMX boys’ nine-to-12 years, two-lap race ahead of Ronaldo D’Andrade and Thuran Gharbarran.
Before the feature event, Junior Niles rode off with the veteran’s under-50, five–lap, first place trophy and the prime prize beating Gafoor and Kennard Lovell who were second and third respectively.
Jamal John took top honours in the three-lap, BMX boys Open race ahead of Adrian Sharma.
In the 12-to-14-years, boys and girls’ three-lap race, Alfie Sonoram took home the winner’s trophy but second place finisher Romelo Crawford sprinted away with the prime prize. Andrew Hicks rode in third.
In the five-lap veteran’s over-50 race, Kenneth Merje was the top and only finisher as the rest of the three starters dropped out.
Krishandat Singh won the veterans’ over-60 years’ race ahead oh his arch rival Maurice Fagundes. Fagundes and Singh were the only starters.
Leal won the junior’s and juveniles’ 10-lap event and the two sprint prizes in a time of 23 minutesand 15 seconds. King and Eastman pedaled in second and third.
The race for the upright cyclists was won by Ozia McAlley. Julio Melville (sprint prize winner) and Hamzah Eastman placed second and third respectively.
The two-lap BMX boy’s six-to-nine year’s race was won by Jeremiah Harrison while brothers Ethan and Kaden Conway pedaled in second and third respectively.
At the prize giving ceremony, Mohamed thanked Marketing Assistants of sponsors Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL), Trish Doodnauth and Larry Wills for the sponsorship of the event and the cyclists for participating in the meet and making the programme a success.
The cyclists will now take their talents to the open road today to compete in the third and final Cheddi Jagan Memorial road race (50 miles) in Essequibo.
Jeffrey won the first leg and also won the season’s opener.
