He’s back!
A stunning, long-range sprint victory yesterday on Homestretch Avenue made one thing pellucidly clear. Raynauth Jeffrey is back and then some.
One day after lapping the field in the feature 35-lap event of the Hand-in-Hand Insurance fixture in the National Park, Jeffrey took his talents to the open roads and literally sprinted off with the top honours of the fourth Kadir Mohamed Memorial 80-mile road race, an ounce of Guyana’s famous raw gold.
Jeffrey’s victory in the sun-baked trek was a gem. Before leading Alanzo Greaves and Raul Leal onto the podium in a dominant wire-to-wire fashion, the Team Coco’s standout pocketed four of the 10 sprint prizes hammering the pedals along the way.
He completed the grueling road race from Georgetown to Dora (Linden Highway) in a scorching three hours, 12 minutes and 28 seconds.
But he was well rewarded with the ounce of gold which is worth approximately $236,000. It was surely a great weekend for the man in the crisp neon green team kit who recently returned from training in high altitude Colombia and competitions in the USA and the Tour of Tobago.
“It’s great to be back and winning and I am proving that I am fit and healthy,” said Jeffrey, who broke his collar bone while training earlier in the season.
After winning the most lucrative one-day event on the local cycling calendar, the national rider added:“Today was a good day and I am looking forward to the Digicel race and the Tour of Guyana.
“I must also thank my teammates for the support they have given me.”
Jeffrey and Greaves were part of a four-man unit that broke away from the peloton at the Demerara Harbour Bridge on the upward journey.
The four wheelsmen maintained a 20-second lead on the chase pack all the way to the turn back point on the Linden Highway.
However, at Long Creek, Jeffrey attacked and was only pursued by Greaves who was later joined by Leal and Berbician, Andrew Hicks.
This hard working lead pack was never caught as they rode in tandem to stave off the chasers. Jeffrey though knew that Greaves is a superior sprinter and used the strategy of attacking him continuously on the downward journey.
With 400m from the finish the four leaders were still bunched up and it was anyone’s race to take. But 50 metres later a tireless Jeffrey rose from his saddle, changed gears and began to barrel to the line. In the searing heat, a sweating Greaves responded but the Team Mengoni rider did not have enough left in the tank to catch the flying Coco’s product who pumped his fist in the air after crossing the line triumphantly.
Quick Results
Open
Raynauth Jeffrey
Alanzo Greaves
Raul Leal
Andrew Hicks
Hamza Eastman
Michael Anthony
Jamal John Orville Hinds
Juniors
Andrew Hicks
Jamal John
Raphael Leung
Juveniles
Deeraj Garbarran
Briton John
Nigel Duguid
Under 45 Veterans
Horace Burrowes
Raymond Newton
Ralph Williams
Over 45 Veterans
Ian Jackson
Shameer Baksh
Kennard Lovell
