In excess of 50 of Guyana’s best riders will do battle on the open roads tomorrow when Digicel stages its fourth annual Cancer Awareness Road Race.
The wheelsmen, which include the likes of Alanzo Greaves, Geron Williams, Michael Anthony, Paul DeNobrega and the resurgent Raynauth Jeffrey, will join defending champion, Orville Hinds on a quest to ride off with the appetizing quarter million dollar first prize.
During the formal launch of the annual event at the company’s Barrack Street, Kingston head office last week,
Digicel’s Sponsorship and Events Executive, Louanna Abrams, disclosed that the top wheelsman will pedal off with the champion’s trophy and a whopping G$250,000.
This ties the biggest purse a cyclist will be riding for in local cycling history.
Hinds pocketed the hefty sum after winning the third edition of the race last year.
Abrams also told media operatives that a record $1.3M in cash prizes will be awarded in total to the top finishers in the senior, junior, veteran and female categories.
“At Digicel we always try to do things bigger and better and we are very interested in fighting breast cancer.”
Meanwhile, Team Gillette Evolution (TGE) has been identified as the club tasked with coordinating the race’s activities. Its president Keith Fernandes disclosed that this year’s event which will attract the cream of Guyana’s cyclists will be held over two stages.
“We want to give Digicel maximum exposure so we will be staging the event at West Demerara, the city and on the East Coast of Demerara,” said Fernandes.
Stage one which is approximately 40 miles, starts at 8:30am at Schoonord, proceeds to Busy Park, Parika and returns to the point of origin for the finish. The second stage (approximately 40 miles also) rolls off at 12:30hrs from Abary and will end on Carifesta Avenue after the riders complete two laps around the outer circuit of the National Park.
Registration begins at 6am sharp.
The TGE president noted that he is looking forward to a safe race and future collaborative endeavors with the telecommunication giant.
This year’s race is a collaborative effort of Digicel, Team Gillette Evolution and the GCF. Proceeds of the race along with substantial donation from Digicel will go towards the Guyana Cancer Institute at the completion of the event. See you there.
