Romello Crawford out rode Geron Williams in a thrilling two-man sprint finish to cart off the spoils of the feature 35-lap event of the Diamond Mineral Water criterium programme yesterday.
The Berbician, who recorded his signature win of the season, stopped the clock in a brisk one hour, 16 minutes and 24 seconds in perfect conditions for racing at the National Park.
His heroics, which measured about a bike length, broke the win streak of riders from Team Coco and the Linden Bauxite Flyers (LBF). Riders from the two clubs along with Paul DeNobrega of Team Evolution have dominated the local cycling circuit this season.
Stephano Husbands (Team Coco’s) joined his breakaway mates on the podium while Shaquel Agard of LBF out sprinted the remnants of the peloton to place fourth. Orville Hinds and Hamza Eastman (Team Coco) filled out the top six rewarding positions.
Crawford, Williams and Husbands were part of the six-man break which was established from the very first lap. The six riders rode together until the 22nd lap but their break away mates, Raphael Leung, Alonzo Ambrose and Jamal John fell off the high pace and were eventually sucked in by the valiant chasers in lap 28.
The chase peloton led by Agard, Hinds and Eastman throttled hard in an effort to connect to the leaders however, the three wheelsmen up front were able to hold off their charges by interchanging the lead and the responsibility of pacing.
At the bell lap, Williams and Husbands threw teamwork out the window about 150m from the finish. They rose from their saddles and barreled to the line but Crawford responded and had just enough left in the tank to take the spoils of the event.
Quick Results
Other winners yesterday included:
Junior Niles (Veteran under 50)
Kennard Lovell (Veteran over 50)
Wilfred Thom (Veteran over 60)
Curtis Dey (Juveniles)
Colwyn Archer (Mountain Bike)
David Hicks (BMX 12-14)
Jose Rodrigues (BMX 6-9)
The programme’s, organizer, Hassan Mohamed, congratulated the competitors for making the fixture a success. He was also in praises of Demerara Distillers Limited for sponsoring the event for the 12th year.
Mohamed’s cycling calendar of activities continues this morning at West Demerara with the Cheddi Jagan Memorial 50-mile road race. Action starts at Wales Police Station from 08:00hrs, proceed to Parika and returns to Schoonord for the finish.
