PLANS for this year’s Guyana Golden Jubilee Three-Stage Cycle Road Race are going well and the organisers are expecting a huge turnout of local riders, while three foreign teams have so far expressed an interest in being a part of the activity which will mark Guyana’s 50th year as an independent nation.According to organiser Linden Dowridge, registration has already started and a number of locally based riders have already inked their names on the list of starters.
Dowridge, a former national cyclist, informed that two teams from Anguilla and another from Trinidad and Tobago have expressed their interest of being a part of the Jubilee 171.4-mile event which is scheduled to get underway this Saturday and conclude on Sunday.
Dowridge told Chronicle Sport that this year, the cyclists and officials will be housed in hotels in both New Amsterdam and Corriverton and not the Number 63 Village School building as has been the case since the inception of the event some 33 years ago.
Dowridge said at the moment sources in Berbice are negotiating with hotel owners in Region Six to get the best possible hotels to accommodate the cyclists and officials who will be participating.
The three-stage event which is the brainchild of national cycle coach Hassan Mohamed starts at 07:30hrs on Saturday from outside the Corriverton Police Station. The competitors will journey to New Amsterdam for the completion of the first stage.
Stage two will wheel off from the Rosignol Ferry Stelling at 14:30hrs on Saturday also and conclude on Carifesta Avenue, Georgetown.
The following day, May 15, cyclists will be transported to the Linden Highway and will be sent off for the start of the third and final stage from Kara Kara at 08:00hrs. They will proceed to Homestretch Avenue, Georgetown for the finish.
Last year’s edition of the race was won by Team Evolution’s Orville Hinds in a time of six hours 52 minutes 26 seconds.
He placed fourth in the first stage, second in stage two and third in the final stage.