THE Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF) held a press briefing yesterday at the Water Chris Hotel in order to bring to light the specifics behind the bronze-medal achievements of Marcia Dick and Christopher Holder, and to give a general recap of the team’s overall performance at the recently concluded 5th Caribbean Youth Cycling Championships. Dick and Holder each scored a bronze medal in the Female 15-18 and the junior categories respectively at the championships which were held in Aruba.
According to the Public Relations Officer of the GCF, Julian Alves, the team’s performance was great, given the cyclists’ lack of racing experience in a velodrome as well as the lack of experience at such high-level competitions by some of the team members, also the small number of cyclists that made up the team. 
Alves emphasised that the lack of a velodrome in Guyana is one of the main caveats when it comes to the performance of local teams at international meets and as such he said that the GCF is in dire need of such a facility because he is of the opinion that Guyana will never produce world-ranked cyclists if the locals don’t have the availability of a velodrome for their training and local seasonal competitions.
GCF vice-president Brian Allen was also of the opinion that the lack of experience and the lack of numbers were the team’s biggest downfalls but he too acknowledged that they did well despite these challenges.
Randolph Roberts and Terry Pemberton who functioned as the team’s Coach and Manager respectively praised the disciplined manner in which the cyclists conducted themselves over the duration of the competition.
They both also acknowledged the fact that the few riders that took part in the championships stuck together and functioned as a well-oiled cohesive unit both on and off the track.
Roberts, however, noted that both of the medallists who could have done far better if they had not met with ill fortune in their respective races. Dick, who was unsure about the finishing point began to sprint too early and could not muster the effort that was needed to complete the course in the top position.
Holder, on the other hand, was involved in the 10-cyclist spill in which he damaged his bike and was unable to put his all into completing the course. The coach reiterated the disadvantage faced by the locals was as a result of their lack of numbers.