MIAMI-BASED Team Coco’s Ruben Campanioni leads the field going into today’s third stage of the National Sports Commission/Ministry of Health/National AIDS Programme Secretariat 8th Annual `Ride for Life’ five-stage road race which commenced yesterday.

However, in a strange twist of things, the team’s owner Ian `QB’ Davis told the event’s organisers he will withdraw his team from further competing in the remaining stages.
Campanioni who placed a close second in the first stage (Corriverton to New Amsterdam) behind Roraima Bikers Club’s Alanzo Greaves, won the second stage (Rosignol to Georgetown) to take the overall lead ahead of his team mates Carlos Ospina and Camillo Ulloa.
However, at the conclusion of the second stage, race commissar Malcolm Sonoram informed Davis that his team would be penalised for a vehicular feeding infraction before the stipulated time frame according to the Union of Cycling International (UCI) rules that govern the sport throughout the world.
Sonaram told Chronicle Sport that the Rules stipulate that team vehicles can only feed their cyclists after they would have established a three-minute lead on the chasing pack, but Davis’ vehicle breached that rule by leaving the chasing pack and feeding his team members 90 seconds after the break had occurred.
This infraction created a 30-second penalty on Davis who objected and strongly denied he did any such thing and at the end of the exchange of words between himself and Sonaram, he said his team would not be completing the last three stages.
Sonaram said even with the 30-second penalty, Team Coco’s would still be leading the five-stage event.
Greaves won the first stage in a time of 1h. 37 minutes 49 seconds, with Campanioni second, Ulloa third, Continental Cycle Club’s Geron Williams fourth, Ospina fifth and Carlton Wheelers Cycle Club’s Robin Persaud sixth.
Ospina was second in stage two, close behind Campanioni in a time of 2h 19min: 12 seconds, while Team Coco’s dominance of the stage was further underlined when Raynauth Jeffrey, Christopher Holder, Ulloa and Junior Niles finished third to sixth respectively.
From the start of the first stage yesterday morning, the 57 starters stuck together for approximately 30 minutes after which 10 cyclists including Campanioni, Greaves, Ulloa, Persaud, Ospina, and Shaquille Agard broke from the pack and established a lead which they maintained until they turned onto Main Street New Amsterdam.
With about 250 metres remaining, Williams went to the front followed by Campanioni, Greaves and Ulloa. The quartet led by Williams headed for the finish line in a driving finish and Greaves secured a narrow win.
At the start of the second stage, it was evident that Team Coco’s intention was to win, as their member kept at the head of affairs and it was not until they reached Woodley Park some 10 minutes after the start that a break occurred.
As they passed through Naarstigaad Village on the West Coast of Berbice, the peloton started to string out and by Hopetown Village there were four bunches of riders all strung out as the least experienced cyclists started to come under severe pressure.
Geron Williams started to come under pressure at Bushy Park and dropped back but soon found a second wind and reconnected to the leaders at Brooms Hall, following which he immediately went to the front of the peloton and dictated the pace of the race for quite a few miles, but was being close marked by Team Coco’s members.
Geron then suffered a puncture to his front wheel at Belfield but got a quick change of wheel and reconnected once more through the assistance of Greaves and Marlon `Fishy’ Williams who waited on him to get the wheel change.
Companioni and Ulloa thought they had enough and made their move to the front of the pack unchallenged, holding at one time a lead of 1m: 30secs and with no cyclists showing any intent on reconnecting, the duo stayed that way to the finish line, crossing same holding hands.
Meanwhile, today’s third stage wheels off from outside the Wales Police Station, West Bank Demerara at 09:00hrs and finishes at Bushy Park, East Bank Essequibo, while the fourth stage will commence at Supenaam, Essequibo Coast tomorrow, proceed to Charity and return to Suddie for the finish.

(By Michael DaSilva)