JUNIOR Niles rode away with the feature event when the curtain came down on the sixth annual Roraima Bikers Club/Humphrey’s Bakery and Farm Products-sponsored and organised George ‘Boy Blue’ Cumberbatch Memorial cycling programme, held around the inner circuit of the National Park yesterday. The Carlton Wheelers Cycle Club cyclist, who had earlier won the Veteran Under-50 five-lap event with Keith Fernandes and Kennard Lovell placing second and third respectively, rode a tactical race to win in a time of 1h: 04:36s from Paul De Nobrega and Raul Leal.
The top three finishers had broken away from the peloton at the start of the 25th lap and opened a lead of 150 metres on their opponents who failed to shorten the gap, despite encouragement from other cyclists and cycling enthusiasts who were gathered at the venue, including Patron of RBC and Managing Director of Humphrey’s Bakery and Farm Products, George Humphrey.
RBC’s Alonso Greaves, Robin Persaud and Akeem Arthur completed the top six paying positions, as 18 of the 35 cyclists including Raymond Newton, Seon Alves, Orville Hinds, Albert Philander, Alex Menes and Marlon Williams, who faced the starter’s orders, completed the 30-lap event.
Persaud carted off two of the 10 prime prizes that were up for grabs, with Niles, Greaves, Alves, Philander, Hinds, Menes and Leal, sharing the other eight, as the cyclists conserved their energies for today’s third and final leg of this year’s Cheddi Jagan Memorial cycle road race, which covers a distance of 50 miles in Region Two.
Christopher Hochand got the day’s activities under way with a win in the Junior/Juvenile 10-lap event, from Raynauth Jeffrey and Kurt La Rose, after which Philander retained his Categories 3 & 4 five-lap titles, doing so in a time of 22:50s from Devanand Bissoon and Alves.
With the absence of defending champion Warren ‘40’ McKay, who had also won the Racing Bikes Open title last year, Greaves took Categories 1 & 23 five-lap events from Enzo Matthews and Williams, doing so in a time of 21:45s.
Virgil Jones turned the clock on Walter Isaacs to take the Veterans’ Over-50 event with Kirkwood Kellman finishing third while Jamal Arthur rode away with the BMX 9-11 one-lap race, with Britton John and Denzil Huntley taking second and third respectively.
The BMX 12-14 race was won by Cleveland King with Philbert Walters as runner-up, Makel Diaz took the BMX Open from King and Arthur, while Kester Croal was a clear winner in the Mountain Bike five-lap event from Raphael Alberts and Nigel Jacobs.