By Donald Duff
President of the Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF), former national cyclist Linden Dowridge will be pushing for the erection of a cycling velodrome this year.
According to Dowridge who took over from Horace Burrowes, he has the support of the one person who can make that dream a reality, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport the Honourable Charles Ramson Jnr.
“The Minister has signaled his intention of supporting the venture of a construction of a velodrome,” Dowridge told Stabroek Sport in a recent interview.
Asked about the location Dowridge had this to say.
”I’m pressing for a particular location. I don’t know if I will be successful but I’m pressing for a section of the Durban Park. It is going to cut the cost significantly because there are already pavilions there, there are already floodlights there, there are washrooms there,” he disclosed.
Local cyclists have long been crying out over the need for a cycling velodrome as most of the cycling events are held on the road. Cyclists have been known to have been injured or even killed whilst training on the roadways of Guyana. Dowridge feels that the Durban Park location will be excellent for the viewership.
“Additionally, Durban Park is in the centre of the town. You can take almost any of the transportation systems and end up there,” he said. “We need something close so that people can come, walk across, sit, enjoy an event, we need something whereby children can come, participate and have enough time to go home and still do their homework and chores, He added.
Dowridge said parking should not be a problem.
“There’s plenty of parking as you have seen major events have been held there before. Cycling is not going to attract that volume and as such I don’t see parking being an issue. Asked about the return to track cycling which used to attract crowds in the past at venues such as the Everest and Georgetown Cricket Club grounds, Dowridge said that there are some of the view that track cycling is outdated.
“I have tried, as a matter of fact myself and the president of the Athletic Association of Guyana, we were supposed to do a joint venture at the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) ground at Camp Ayanganna, but things never got off the ground for various reasons.” Meanwhile, Dowridge said that the popular three-stage cycle event will be back again this year which is something that the local cyclists can look forward to.
“I anticipate having the three-stage again and the race in Essequibo which followed the three stage because it is the President’s vision, His Excellency for the One Guyana goal where he is trying to see whatever is done in one region is done in the other.” Dowridge said that Director of Sports, Steve Ninvalle, injected it last year so there was the three stage followed by a race in Essequibo the following week.
Dowridge says he will be budgeting for the three-stage event this year.
