MINISTER of Culture, Youth and Sport (MCYS) Dr Frank Anthony yesterday charged Guyana’s successful junior cycling team, to change the tide of placing that has been occurring over the past two years, in the annual five-stage cycle road race.

Dr Anthony was referring to the Miami-based Team Coco’s dominance of the race, which was won by Antonio Quintero in 2010 and Jonathan Teeter who represented Team California in last year’s event, while expressing his and the country’s gratitude to the four junior cyclists who performed creditably at the recently concluded Caribbean Junior Cycling Championships (CJCC) in the Dominican Republic.
“We are extremely pleased with what we just heard, with regard to the results of our junior cyclists. They have done us extremely proud and we wish to extend our congratulations, not only from the Ministry, but also the people of Guyana.
“I think too often, people feel we don’t have talent in this country and that is definitely not so, as this team has demonstrated we do have talent and once given the opportunity, we would be able to achieve expectations, not just nationally, but also in the Caribbean.”
Dr Anthony reflected on the work being done by national cycling coach Hassan Mohamed, who for the past 36 years has been conducting his ‘Teach Them Young’ cycling class during the summer holidays, out of which 95% of the country’s cyclists materialised.
Cyclists such as Paul De Nobrega, the vast-improving Raynauth Jeffrey, Michael Anthony and Raul Leal – who competed in the CJCC, along with Alonso Greaves, Robin Persaud, Enzo Matthews, Warren ‘40’ McKay, Marlon ‘Fishy’ Williams, Eric Sankar and Godfrey Pollydore, just to name a few, are all products of the summer programme which is held in the National Park.
Dr Anthony, “I don’t think the Caribbean recognises that we have a strong cycling programme here in Guyana and when I found out the distance our cyclists were asked to compete in the CJCC, that is nothing as they have been competing in the three-stage and of course the ultimate test, the five-stage which they competed in and finished with a high ranking.
“Eighty (80) kilometres is nothing. They have as Hassan would say – the miles in the legs and were it not for that fall, I think Raynauth would have done exceedingly well and I wish to congratulate you as I think we are on the right track and intend to keep things that way.”

FIVE STAGE
Looking at next month’s sixth annual ‘Ride for Life’ five-stage cycle road race, Dr Anthony said the MCYS wants to change how it is approaching cycling in Guyana, highlighting the foreign dominance of the event for the past three years.
“We have been talking about our approach at the Ministry level for this event and one of the things we spoke about was the formation of teams and sticking with that, after several attempts to do so,” Dr Anthony stated.
“We now have to get that done as it is only through teams, we can come out successful and win. The reason why Team Coco has been beating us is because of teamwork and they are willing to teach us that technique and we are willing to work with them.”
He showered praise on the manager of Team Coco, Ian ‘QB’ Davis, who sponsored the team for the CJCC, while pushing a lot of money into the local cycling programme and complimented same by donating several racing bikes to a number of cyclists.
“He strongly believes that our junior cyclists can be a dominant force in the Caribbean and I am very happy that he is supporting us and already the dream is a reality and I am sure that in future outings, it will be the same.
“It is already a work in progress, but I want to see our junior team in the next five-stage race, challenging Team Coco in a very serious way. The seniors have their own opinion and that will be difficult to change, but I think the juniors, who once they incorporate the techniques taught to them, will do very well and I am very confident that they will create some upset in the upcoming five-stage event.”
With regard to the team’s performance, De Nobrega won the junior event in which he competed against 100 cyclists from 18 different countries, in a record 2h.04:01secs, with Jeffrey who suffered a spill, finishing third.
Of the juvenile event, Anthony, who hails from Linden, copped the top podium spot with a commanding win which saw him finishing three minutes ahead of the peloton, of which Leal was a part of and managed to take second place.
However, he was stripped of that position, following an incorrect configuration on his cycle, which according to Mohamed, was an error on behalf of the race organisers, who checked the cycle before the race and deemed it suitable enough to compete.
Both Dr Anthony and Mohamed concurred with Thompson and the team’s manager Wayne De Abreu in saying Leal’s disqualification should have occurred before the race commenced, with the Minister giving the GCF head high marks for her on-the-spot decision to file a protest.
Despite this hiccup, president of the Guyana Cycling Federation, Cheryl Thompson, showered praise on the team for their sterling performances, while she informed Dr Anthony that the GCF will file an official complaint with regard to Leal’s relegation from second to fourth in the juvenile event.