Cyclists to do battle from Rosignol to Georgetown for $250 000 top prize
… Veterans, Ladies and Juveniles will journey from Mahaica

HAVING pedalled off from Five Corners and David Rose Street in Linden for the past two years, cyclists competing in this year’s third annual Digicel-sponsored Breast Cancer Awareness cycle road race for the top prize of $250 000, will be taking a different route on Sunday October 26.This year’s event which was launched yesterday at the telecommunications service provider boardroom will see the senior and junior cyclists who are all asked to pay an entrance fee of $1 000, journey from Rosignol to Carifesta Avenue, a distance of 60.4 miles.
They will circle the outer perimeter of the National Park for two laps, similar to last year’s event, before completing the race, with the second- to sixth-place finishers rewarded with cash prizes and trophies, while veterans, juveniles and female competitors will journey from Mahaica Bridge to the finish line, going around the outer perimeter twice as well.
Speaking at the launching, Digicel’s Sponsorship and Events Manager Gavin Hope said an invitation has been extended to all clubs in Guyana to compete in the event, which is being coordinated by the Linden Bauxite Flyers Cycle Club (LBFCC) and has the blessings of the Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF).
He called cycling enthusiasts to line the route of the event, not doing so only to cheer on the cyclists as they pass through the various villages in West Berbice and on the East Coast of Demerara, but also to help spread the message on Cancer Awareness.
“We know that the country’s top cyclists will be in top shape for this event, since many of them would have competed in several races held before, so the battle for supremacy in this event, which Digicel intends to make a calendar one, is certainly anticipated,” said Hope.
President of LBFCC Okel Arthur thanked Digicel for choosing his club as the coordinating one, since in the last two editions they used Roraima Bikers Club for that purpose and he disclosed that at least three foreign competitors will be among the list of starters.
Such names according to GCF president include 2014 National Sports Commission (NSC) Independence three-stage champion Darren Matthews of Barbados and Reuben Companioni of Colombia, who will be competing in this year’s five-stage cycle road race.
The Digicel ‘Cancer Awareness’ cycle road race can be termed the largest one-day cycling event in Guyana, since it totals $1.3M in cash prizes, with the second- to sixth-place finishers pocketing $200 000, $150 000, $80 000, $50 000 and $20 000 respectively.
In the Junior category, the top three finishers will pocket $80 000, $50 000 and $30 000; the top two finishers in the Veterans and Ladies categories will pocket $50 000 and $30 000 each respectively while the top three finishers in the Juvenile category will receive trophies.
Reigning national Time Trial champions Raynauth ‘Obeah Man’ Jeffrey is the defending champion in the Open category, having won last year’s event in a time of 3h. 03m: 05secs, beating an illustrious field that included Marlon ‘Fishy Williams, Alanzo Greaves, Geron Williams, Robin Persaud and Orville Hinds.
Junior Niles successfully retained the Veterans title last year, and the vast-improving Michael Anthony, who recently won the Victor Macedo ‘Ounce of Gold’ race last Sunday, won the Junior category, even as Hazina Bharrat turned the tides on Naomi Singh to take the female category.
At the conclusion of yesterday’s launching, Digicel Communications Manager Vidya Sanichara presented a cheque for an undisclosed sum to Judita DaCosta of the Avon Community Health Fund (ACHF) which works along with the Guyana Cancer Society.
Hope also said the entrance fees paid by all cyclists to compete will go towards the Guyana Cancer Society. Thompson vowed to have the GCF continue to have the event, held in October, as a calendar event with the cyclists assisting more with the fight against the silent disease

(By Calvin Roberts)