Raynauth Jeffrey did it again yesterday.
The Team Coco’s standout followed up Thursday’s first stage win by out pedaling 35 rival wheelsmen in yesterday’s penultimate stage in Essequibo to cement his place as race leader heading into today’s fifth and final stage.
Jeffrey, who started the fourth stage with a 17-second lead over teammate Darren Matthews, attacked Roraima
Bikers Club’s Alanzo Greaves and Team United’s Orville Hinds three km from the finish and never relinquished the lead.
The national road race and time trial champion clocked two hours, 29 minutes and 55 seconds in winning the event which rolled off at 7:30am at Supenaam, proceeded to Charity and ended at Suddie.
Greaves and Hinds were 11 seconds off the pace.
However, with Greaves’ second place finish, this season’s most successful cyclist overtook Matthews who sprinted to victory in Thursday’s second stage as the first runner up of the Tour of Guyana heading into today’s finale.
Carlton Wheelers Cycle Club, Godfrey Pollydore, Matthews, Team Alanis’ Paul DeNobrega and the rest of the riders completed the 62-mile event in a bunch time of two hours, 30 minutes and 44 seconds.
The race, which was filled with several attacks and counter attacks, saw Paul Choo-Wee-Nam, Kravitz Jeffrey, Rastaff O’Selmo and Eric Sankar breaking away from the peloton about 10km after the start.
The lead foursome journeyed as a team until Jeffrey was dropped at Devonshire Castle as the chase peloton led by a wave of Team Coco’s riders barreled down on the trio up front.
Soon after, O’Selmo dropped back to reconnect with the chasers leaving Choo-Wee-Nam and Sankar who were caught just after the turn back point at Charity.
Raymond Newton, Hinds and DeNobrega then staged at short-lived break away but were wheeled in by the peloton.
Jeffrey then went on a solo attack at the village of Jib.
The rest of the peloton except Greaves and Hinds failed to pursue and after a fierce half-hour chase, the duo connected with the talented 20-year-old called ‘Obeah Man’ at the village of Colombia.
The tireless Jeffrey, however, caught a second wind and rode like a man possessed during the final three km to separate himself from Greaves and Hinds.
Today’s final stage will begin at 8:30am with the cyclists riding from Linden and finishing on Homestretch Avenue in Georgetown in another 62-mile race.
All top 10 finishers will receive cash prizes and trophies.
The top three finishers will receive US$1,000 and a trophy, US$750 and a trophy and US$500 and a trophy respectively.
