Persaud takes feature event in style
CARLTON Wheelers Cycle Club’s (CWCC) Robin Persaud yesterday rode away with the feature event of the Hassan Mohamed-organised, Banks DIH PowerAde-sponsored inaugural Ulric Pollydore Memorial cycling programme, held around the inner circuit of the National Park. Persaud’s winning time of 1h 17:56sec, did not highlight the hard work he had to put in to achieve such, following the efforts of Roraima Bikers Club’s Alonso Greaves and Linden’s Orville Hinds earlier on.
The two broke away from the 37 starters in the first lap and were caught 21 laps later by Persaud, Jude Bently – who suffered a puncture midway in the 30th lap – and Raynauth Jeffrey, while Greaves’ teammate Albert Philander connected shortly after.
Warren ‘40’ McKay and several other cyclists were involved in a spill during the ninth lap of the 35-lap event, while Junior Niles, Walter Grant-Stuart, Leer Nunes, Kurt La Rose and Enzo Matthews tried valiantly to connect with the front runners, all to no avail.
As the race progressed, several cyclists including McKay found the going at the front too much for them and exited their saddles and as the frontrunners approached the penultimate turn for the bell lap, Persaud made an unanswered move to the front, where he established a lead of 13 seconds.
He was unchallenged to the line and in the sprint for second place, Philander edged Greaves, with Raul Leal, Michael Anthony and Jeffrey rounding off the top six positions. Hinds picked up four sprint prizes, Greaves two and Persaud and Philander one each.
The day’s programme, which was held in memory of the late Pollydore, a former Guyana Cycling Federation and Kaieteur Cycle Club president, began with the BMX 6-9 event, which was won by Isaiah Sahadeo, with Christopher Goring and Ken Sahadeo finishing second and third respectively.
Kapildev Bhisham took the BMX 9-12 race from Jamal Arthur and Tamin Ghabarran. Jason Jordan won the BMX 12-14 Boys from Adrian Sharma and Christopher Griffith, while national female champion Hazina Barret took the 12-14 three-lap race from Naomi Singh and Alfie Sonaram.
Niles clocked 13.20 to take the Veteran Under-50 category from Shameer Baksh and Kennard Lovell, while Virgil Jones recorded the same time for the Over-50 category, which he won, with Wilfred Thom and Javier Leon placing second and third behind him.
Maurice Fagundes rode away with the Veterans Over-60 event from Harry Lall, Mikhail Diaz took the BMX Open from Julio Melville and Cleveland King, Mario King the Junior/Juvenile race from Anthony and La Rose while Keon Thomas, Hamza Eastman and Michael De Roche were the top three finishers in the Upright event.
At the brief presentation ceremony which followed, both Mohamed and Director of Sport Neil Kumar applauded the cyclists for their good showing, while Kumar reminded his audience of Pollydore’s feats in the local cycling fraternity, calling it ‘statesmanship performance’ for a man who loved cycling.
Mohamed further reminded the cyclists of upcoming events, which include the seventh annual P&P Insurance Brokers programme to be held next Saturday, followed by the Guyoil/Castrol Father’s Day 50-mile road race the following day.
Banks DIH’s Outdoor Events Manager Mortimer Stewart, who was on hand to assist with the presentation of prizes, congratulated the cyclists for their disciplined performances. He said his company is always willing to work with the GCF in future endeavours.