“I TAKE this opportunity to tell you that I will be responsible for taking them to the Olympics in the next four years.’
Those were the words of manager of the

Miami,Florida-based Team Coco cycling team, Ian ‘QB’ Davis, who was at the time delivering brief remarks at the presentation ceremony for this year’s Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport/Ministry of Health/Guyana Cycling Federation sixth annual ‘Ride for Life’ five-stage cycle road race, which was held at the National Cultural Centre on Sunday last.
It was an event that saw six cyclists from Guyana, namely Paul De Nobrega, Raynauth Jeffrey, Raul Leal, Michael Anthony, Junior Niles and Walter Grant-Stuart, join forces with Ivan Dominguez, Darren Matthews, Antonio Alarcon and Jaime Ramirez, to form Team Coco for the event.
Ramirez went on to win the event in a record-breaking time that read 9h. 46m: 51secs, but it was the performance of Jeffrey, Leal, De Nobrega and Anthony which prompted Davis to take on the responsibility of sending the quartet to the 2016 Olympics which will be held in Rio de Janiero, Brazil.
Davis first sponsored the quartet who competed with much success at the recently held Caribbean Junior Cycling Championships (CJCC) in Dominican Republic, where De Nobrega returned with gold and Jeffrey bronze, which were both won in the 80km event.
Davis told his audience which included Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr Frank Anthony, MCYS’ Deputy Permanent Secretary Steve Ninvalle, Director of Sport Neil Kumar and GCF president Cheryl Thompson, his aim is to see cycling become the number one sport in Guyana.
“I thank the GCF and Ministry of Sport, for giving me the opportunity to have Team Coco compete in the annual ‘Ride for Life’ cycle road race and I thank you again for giving me the opportunity to guide the juniors in this event.
“In the future, I would like to see the sport of cycling become the number one sport in Guyana and I wish to say thanks once again to the GCF for having me here today, where I can give back to cycling in Guyana,” said Davis.
At the completion of this year’s MCYS/GCF/National Sports Commission Independence three-stage cycle road race which was won by Team Coco’s Ivan ‘Cuban Missile’ Dominguez, Davis handed over new cycles to several cyclists, including the four juniors, Grant-Stuart, Niles and Enzo Matthews.
When the GCF found it difficult to send the junior team to the CJCC, he put his hand up and offered full sponsorship, after realizing that they have the potential to make Guyana proud.
In an invited comment with Chronicle Sport before the start of the third stage, Davis said his aim is to develop cycling in Guyana, wherein this country can rub shoulders with several other countries around the world.
“I am Guyanese and my heart is in the sport of cycling. These four guys are very talented and with the blessings of the GCF, I have taken them under my wings to not only hone their skill in the sport, but also help develop them and take them to the next level.
“They have the talent to become the future of the sport in Guyana and I will do all that is within my power to ensure they become the best in Guyana’s cycling and I won’t stop unless the GCF stops me,” stated Davis.
“With such aspirations, and Dr Anthony giving his blessings to foreign participation in local cycling events, namely the Independence three-stage and the ‘Ride for Life’ five-stage which is a marquee event on the local cycling calendar, cycling enthusiasts can expect to see lots  more from Davis and the dominant Team Coco in the future.