Persaud to defend CARICOM 50-mile cycle road race title tomorrow

REIGNING CARICOM 50-mile cycle road race champion Robin Persaud will tomorrow try to make a successful defence of the title he won last year, when cycle coach Hassan Mohamed stages the 5th Annual Seven Seas Multi Vitamin-sponsored event in the West Demerara area.Persaud who stopped the clock at one hour 55 minutes .04 seconds last year will have to be wary of the likes of Guyana’s Glasgow 2014 selectees Marlon `Fishy’ Williams, Raynauth Jeffrey and Scott Savory who are all in good nick at the moment.
Williams finished a close second to his namesake Geron Williams in last Sunday’s Guyana Cycling Federation’s national road race over 100 miles. Jeffrey on the other hand placed third.
Other cyclists who have been showing good form recently include Orville Hinds, Warren McKay, Leer Nunes and Paul DeNobrega.
The event, which wheels off from outside the Wales Police Station, West Bank Demerara at 08:00hrs, will be conducted in five categories – seniors, juniors, veterans, mountain bikers and females.
The seniors and juniors will ride from Wales to Bushy Park, East Bank Essequibo and turn back to finish by the Demerara Harbour Bridge, while the mountain bikers, veterans and females will turn back at Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara and finish at the Demerara Harbour Bridge also.
The top six finishers in the open category will receive prizes as will the top three juniors, veterans and the top three females.
There will also be a special prize for the first Over-60 cyclist to complete the course.
Eight prime prizes will be up for grabs during the event.
Mario King won the junior category last year while Kennard Lovell was first among the veterans and Steffon Husbands won the mountain bike category.
Walter `Buck Man’ Isaacs received the special prize last year for being the first Over-60 cyclist to cross the finish line.
In the junior category, Michael Anthony who has been enjoying a good 2014 season will start as favourite, but will have to be at his best in order to defeat Jabon Crawford, King, Alonzo Ambrose, Romelo Crawford, Andrew Hicks Hamzah Eastman or Shaquille Agard.
In the veterans category Lovell can expect keen competition from Raymond Newton, Stephen Fernandes, Linden Blackman, Turan Harris, Marc Sonaram and Wasim Hasneo.
Seven Seas Production specialist Karen Cornell and Pharmacy specialist `Mahesh’ will present the prizes to the respective winners.