A dominant year for Orville Hinds and his club, Team Gillette Evolution, a change in the federation’s leadership and the surprise drug testing of cyclists local and international were the talking points of the local cycling circuit last season.
The year 2015 started with the establishment of Team Gillette Evolution. Marlon ‘Fishy’ Williams, a standout rider for the club, won the first event for the year and this was a signal of things to come as the unit, led by Hinds, quickly made its debut season the team’s coming out party.
Hinds racked up seven victories the highlight being his win in Guyana’s longest tenured event, the Independence Three-Stage road race. The National cyclist, who also represented Guyana at the Caribbean Cycling Championships in Barbados in September also earned several podium places to be crowned the champion rider for the season.
His club mates Raul Leal, Williams, Michael Anthony and Akeem Wilkinson, were also instrumental in the club’s success, winning 19 races among them, one more than the more celebrated Team Coco’s who had 18 wins from eight riders. Anthony won six events and Williams two.
Leal won the most gruelling event on the cycling calendar, the five-stage road race to go along with three other victories and many top five positions.
The year 2015 also saw a change in presidency of the Guyana Cycling Federation from Cheryl Thompson to Horace Burrowes.
The crowning of Hamza Eastman (Team Coco’s) as the National Road Race Champion and his participation on the US circuit were also pages in last season’s calendar.
Eastman’s club mates Jamal John and Junior Niles further cemented their statuses as the best junior and veteran rider in 2015. John claimed 25 wins and Niles 24. Their nearest rivals were Raphael Leung and Ralph Williams with five and four victories respectively.
Another talking point of the year was the praiseworthy treatment of the wheelsmen during the stage races.
New Director of Sport, Chris Jones ensured that the meals of the riders and officials were much more palatable than years prior while the riders stayed at hotels free of cost during the out of town stages.
One of the low points of the sport has to be the final day of the Five Stage road race which was marred by controversy after the initial winner of the event, Carlos Ospina refused to take a urine test.
For the first time in the race’s eight year history, the first place finisher after competing for four days and winning the first and final stages did not receive a dollar.
Ospina was infamously disqualified for refusing a random drug test from officials of Caribbean RADO.
According to the findings of Caribbean RADO, three of the nine cyclists tested positive.
According to Karen Pilgrim who is a Doping Control Officer (DPO) if any of the cyclists are indeed Guyanese, their “Results Management” will be handled by the Caribbean RADO. No details will be available until that process is complete.
During last season, there was also the traditional calendar events organized by Hassan Mohamed including his 39th annual Teach Them Young Clinic during the August holidays.
Here’s to hoping for 2016 being a better year on the saddles.
