The 2021 National Road Race champion will be decided by the governing body for cycling, Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) after the race ended in protests yesterday.
Star rider John Briton had celebrated winning the 100-mile event, but Romello Crawford and Paul DeNobrega immediately protested the three-up sprint finish citing an alleged infraction by the United We Stand standout.
The scintillating and exciting race, littered with attacks and counterattacks, was unfortunately marred at the finish as John seemingly deviated from his sprinting line, veering left into the paths of the duo at about 100m from the finish.
According to Third Vice-President of the Guyana Cycling Federation, Enzo Matthews, the UCI will determine the winner of the annual fixture which started at Thirst Park, proceeded to the Linden Highway and returned to the point of origin for the finish.
“Everyone seems to know the rules and when you are in position of that, it means we need to send it to the proper authorities which is the UCI.”
Matthews added “We have rear camera and we have front camera video of the last 200 meters of this event and we will be sending off this information to the UCI and depending on their decision, that will be final. At this time, we do not have an official winner.”
John, who was disqualified for a similar infraction with Christopher Griffith earlier this month stated that “Two cyclists are claiming that I cheated, but that is not true. I held my lane in the race; the evidence is right there.”
An official decision is expected within 24 hours.
Stabroek Sport will keep readers updated as events unfold.
