– races slated for Oct 12 & 13
The cycling fraternity in Guyana will receive a proverbial ‘shot in the arm’ as the inaugural edition of the ‘One Guyana’ 3-Stage Cycling Race is set to pedal off on October 12th-13th, with over $750,000 up for grabs across the Elite and Junior categories of the event.
Two of the three stages are road races, totalling a distance of 220 kilometres (km), while the third stage is a Criterium event, to be staged on Main Street, with laps covering 60km.
Stage one of the event will see cyclists assemble in the Ancient County of Berbice on Saturday (October 12), where they will receive starting orders from in front of the New Amsterdam State House at 9:00am, head to No. 46 Village, and then return to the point of origin for the finish, a distance of 140km.
The next day, Sunday (October 13), the second stage will begin at the Schoonord roundabout from 7:30am, head to Parika, and return to the start before repeating the route for a second time to complete a distance of 80km.
Later on the same day, in an ultimate test of the endurance, they will have to ride in a criterium around a circuit beginning at 3:30pm. They will pedal off from the eastern half of Main and Middle Streets, head south to turn around the Cenotaph, head north along the western half of Main Street, turn back at Lamaha Street, and head back to the starting point to complete a lap. The number of laps will add up to a total of 60km.
Cyclists will compete across the Elite Men, Elite Women, Junior Men, Junior Women, and Masters (Veterans) categories, respectively. Up for grabs in the Elite category will be $500,000, while the winner’s purse for the juniors is set at $250,000.
While the event is open to all Guyanese cyclists, invitations will be sent to the various cycling clubs across the country, and registration can be done online through the Guyana Cycling Federation, which will be responsible for supervising the event. There is a registration fee set at $2000, and cyclists are advised that they must be properly attired in full racing gear to take part.
