MUCH is expected from Guyana’s five-member cycling team that will contest the Elite Caribbean Cycling Championships in Puerto Rico this Saturday and Sunday.

The five-man team, which comprises national Road Race champion Geron Williams, Alanzo Greaves, Raynauth Jeffrey, Marlon Williams and Hamza Eastman, is expected to wing out for Puerto Rico today and will get into action on Saturday.
The most experienced team member, Geron Williams, believes that the team is a balanced one and one of the strongest in a number of years.
The United States of America-based Williams who rides professionally for Stans No Tubes Team returned from that country a week ago and has been putting mileage in his legs leading up to Championships that will involve teams from most of the Caribbean nations including Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Jamaica, St Lucia and host nation Puerto Rico.
He said preparations are taking shape and once the other members of the team ride as a team there is no reason why the Golden Arrowhead should not be flown at the presentation ceremony.
Williams was invited by CRCA/Foundation NYC, which he rode for last year and most of this year, to be a guest rider with them in the Tobago Cycling Classic, but opted out on advice from his coach and former Guyana Olympian Aubrey Bryce and a few other former national cyclists.
He said he was advised to skip the event since it might be too taxing leading up to the Elite Caribbean Championships starting Saturday.
“My aim on Saturday is to be on the podium,” Williams stated, adding that he was travelling quite a bit recently in the United States but has returned to Guyana after competing and things have been quite interesting,
He noted that recently, the races in Guyana seem to be going faster and evidently are more challenging. He said that he competed at the USA Criterium Series/Chris Thater Memorial race series in Binghampton New York in August.
At that event, Williams crashed out of the race with three laps to go, escaping serious injuries in the process, but was able to start the following day and fortunately, was able to dodge other crashes on the second day and missed placing fourth.
On September 14 his team competed at the Bucks County Cycling Classic which attracted 184 starters on which was a very technical eight-corner course that went a distance of 50 miles and 4 000ft of ascent.
“It was by far one of the most difficult Criterium races I have competed in and I was able to finish in 16th place” Williams related, adding “The following weekend we travelled to Boston to close the season off at the TD Bank Mayor Cup Cycling Classic. Here I was able to place 10th out of a field of just over 90 starters which saw 66 finishers.”
Asked how he felt to be selected to represent Guyana this weekend in Puerto Rico, Williams said, “It’s great that I will be able to represent Guyana this year in Puerto Rico at the Caribbean Championships. Last year due to illness I was forced to abandon all of my ambitions for this event. This year I hope to be in good health for this event, I am always proud to represent Guyana internationally.”

(By Michael DaSilva)