CYCLISTS in Georgetown and its environs are set to benefit immensely from a complete resurfacing of the bitumen circuit at the National Park which has just been completed and on which the 2011 Cycling Season is set to pedal off tomorrow, with the staging of the 18th Annual Ricks and Sari Agro Industries 11-race programme from 09:00h. The multi-million-dollar improvement of the mile-long track, popularly known as the ‘Ring Road’, was done by Dipcon Engineering Services Limited, under the supervision of Walter Willis, Technical Adviser to the Minister of Transport and Hydraulics, on behalf of the Office of the President.
National Cycling coach Mr Hassan Mohamed told the Guyana Chronicle that this is the first-ever complete resurfacing of the historic circuit since 1977 when he started coaching young cyclists on it.
Project Engineer from DIPCON, Mr. Latchman Bhagwandas, disclosed that the resurfacing was part of a $24.6M project being undertaken by the Company which also included the resurfacing of the car park next door to the circuit.
He said the circuit, on which work started and was completed within the past two weeks, is the first of the two projects to be completed before Mashramani.
Willis said the project was being undertaken by the Office of the President in fulfilment of a promise made to the cycling fraternity by His Excellency President Bharrat Jagdeo, to whom approaches for assistance had been made.
Mohamed, who stated he has been lobbying for the resurfacing of the track for years, said the circuit had been a nursery for Guyanese cyclists, many of whom had achieved prominence in the sport over the years since its usage started in 1977 and he was happy to see it being done.
“This is more like a roadway in the National Park but it was the only facility of the kind available for cyclists since then, and up to now. This will have a very positive effect on cycling and the continued development of cycling,” he said.
Tomorrow’s race card, which is a legacy of the late Reagan Rodrigues, a former president of Carlton Wheelers Cycle Club (CWCC), will see cyclists competing in the BMX Boys’ Open, 6-9, 9-12, 12-14 and Girls’ 6-12.
Cycling enthusiasts will also see action in the Veterans Over-50 and Under-50 categories, Juveniles, Uprights, Boys and Girls 12-14 and the main feature, Schoolboys and Invitational, who will do battle for over 35 laps.
According to Mohammed, representatives of the sponsors who also contribute heavily to his ‘Teach them Young’ cycling programme, will be on hand to assist with the distribution of prizes at the end of the programme.