DISABLED cyclist Walter Grant-Stuart could not have asked for a better way to end the 2010 season  when he outclassed a field of Guyana’s premier cyclists to lift the 11th annual Diamond Mineral Water 50-mile road race last  Sunday. Stuart, who was named the National Sports Commission (NSC) Disabled Sportsman-of-the-Year at this year’s National Sports Awards, clocked a time of one hour, 58 minutes 22 seconds to win the race which was ridden in sweltering heat from Wales Police Station to Bushy Park Parika and back to the Demerara Harbour Bridge.
Junior cyclist Paul De Nobrega also rode a superb race, placing second, while Mark Lewis of Linden was third, Alonzo Greaves fourth, Junior Niles fifth and Warren ‘40’ McKay sixth.
De Nobrega was, however, adjudged the winner of the junior category that saw Raynauth Chaitram place second with Montel Anthony in third place.
Kenard Lovell won the veteran category in which the older cyclists turned back at Uitvlugt. He beat his rivals Shameer Baksh into second place and Lindon Blackman into third.
The upright riders took the same detour as the veterans and it was Nigel Jacobs who came out on top ahead of Ravindra Rodrigues and Shawn Frank who crossed the line in second and third respectively.
Organiser of the race and National Cycling Coach Hassan Mohamed showered the cyclists with praise for maintaining the highly competitive nature of the race for the past 11 years and congratulated Grant-Stuart for riding a remarkable race.
Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) were once again thanked by Mohamed for being onboard again and the company’s Marketing Management Trainee, Marlon Gravesande, also expressed their pleasure being associated with an event where the local cyclists bring out their best performance annually for the past decade.
He added that with them once again being on board this year is a demonstration DLL’s continuity of sponsorship to keep the rivalry going in local cycling.
The conclusion of the 11th Diamond Mineral Water 50-mile road race also marked the end of the 2010 Cycling Season in Guyana and it was noted that 2011 will begin at the end of January.