Roraima Bikers Club standout Marlon `Fishy’ Williams, who has just shown flashes of brilliance in recent seasons, prevailed over a star-studded field at the National Park yesterday to win the feature 35-lap event of the 21st annual Ricks and Sari Agro Industries 11-race programme.
He edged Team United’s Orville Hinds and Team Coco’s Michael Anthony and Raynauth Jeffrey
in a thrilling four-man sprint finish.
His tactically sound victory, which came in one hour, 17 minutes and nine seconds, was attained at Hassan Mohamed’s first calendar event for 2014 and the second overall cycle event for the season.
Williams also pocketed a sprint prize.
Robin Persaud, who celebrated his 39th birth anniversary yesterday, placed fifth while top veteran, Junior Niles completed the top six.
Jeffrey (three), Hinds (one), Andre Abdool (one), Geron Williams (one) and Walter Grant-Stewart also took home sprint prizes.
The signature event started off at a brisk pace with 10 riders teaming up to stage a break away from the third lap.
Seven laps later however, Williams, Hinds, Anthony and Jeffrey changed gears and were never caught.
The four riders, blessed with speed and stamina, worked in tandem to stave off the pursuiters.
However, with three laps to go, National Road race and Time-Trial champion, Jeffrey, threw team work out the window and staged several solo attacks but each time was wheeled in by Williams, Hinds and Anthony.
Some 200m metres from the finish, Williams made his move and used his superior sprinting ability to power to victory.
Before the feature event, Rawle Small won the BMX boys’ 12 to 14 years, three-lap race ahead of Deeraj Garbarran and Jaleel Jackson respectively.
Small also took top honours in the three-lap, BMX boys’ open race relegating Garbarran and Amo Gomes to the runners-up positions.
Sherwin Sampson took top honours in the BMX boys’ 9 to 12 years, two-lap race pedalling in before Thuran Garbarran and Alex Leung.
Sampson also won the BMX boys’ 6 to 9 years two-lap event, finishing before Shay Sue Hang and Leung.
Niles rode off with the veterans’ Under-50, five-lap, first place trophy and the sprint prize, besting rivals Thuran Harris and Shameer Baksh who were second and third respectively.
In the 12 to 14 years, boys and girls’ three-lap race, Romelo Crawford took home the winner’s trophy and sprint prize, besting Raphael Leung and Nigel Duguid in the process.
In the five-lap veterans’ Over-50 race, Linden Blackman was the only competitor.
Maurice Fagundes took home the veterans’ Over-60 years’ winner’s trophy while Anthony Farrier was second and the only other starter.
Seventeen-year-old Anthony won the juniors and juveniles’ 10-lap event in 22 minutes and 27 seconds and also grabbed the two sprint prizes. Akeem Arthur pedalled in second while Stepano Husbands was third.
The race and the sprint prize for the Mountain Bikers event was won by Clyde Jacobs. His arch rival Ozia McAulay placed second while Richard Charles biked in third.
At the prize-giving ceremony, Mohamed thanked representatives of the sponsors and also acknowledged the cyclists for participating in the meet and making the programme a success.
He also said that his cycling events will continue next weekend with back-to-back races Saturday (National Park) and Sunday (road race).
Note: 2014 marks the 38th year since Hassan Mohamed started organizing cycling events. There were 43 starters for yesterday’s 35-lap event. Orville Hinds won the first cycling event which was staged in Berbice on January 12.
