Team Coco’s Carlos Ospina won the final stage of the National Sports Commission’s (NSC) `Tour of Guyana’ Five Stage Cycle Road Race and was expected to be declared the winner of the overall event according to the recoded timings, but he refused to do a random drug test and was disqualified.This set the stage for `Team Gillette Evolution’s Raul Leal to be declared the overall champion when the presentation ceremony was held at the National Cultural Centre shortly after the

conclusion of the fifth and final stage.
The random drug test came about on the urging of the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) who was sanctioned by the Caribbean Regional Anti-Doping Association to carry out the testing.
At the finish of yesterday’s final stage, officials of the GOA including vice- presidents Stephanie Fraser, Charles Corbin and Treasurer Garfield Wiltshire decided to choose ten cyclists to do a random drug test, and of the ten identified, five were Team Coco’s members while the others were from different teams.
Immediately after learning that five Team Coco’s members were identified to be tested, the team’s manager Eian Davis lodged a protest and asked for answers as to why five of his team members were chosen and only one or two from other clubs.
However, when Chronicle Sport tried to get information from the GOA officials as to why the ten cyclists were chosen to undergo testing, this reporter was not given a reason, however, a source close to the testing said it was on the instructions of the Caribbean Regional Anti-Doping Association that the testing had to be done.
The 10 cyclists randomly chosen for the drug test were Team Coco’s Hamzah Eastman, Raynauth Jeffrey, Ospina, Darren Matthews and Jaime Ramirez along with Geron Williams (Continental), Alonzo Greaves (Roraima Bikiers), Marloe Rodman (Jamaica),Jamal Eastman (Barbados) and Raul Leal (Team Gillette Evolution).
While some of the Team Coco’s’ members and the others from the various clubs went ahead and did the test, Ospina refused and was subsequently disqualified.
In the process he lost the overall first place position as well as 14 of the 30 prime prizes that were up for grabs during the five-stage event.
Ospina who won the first stage (Corriverton to New Amsterdam, Berbice) in one hour, 37 minutes and 58 seconds, placed fifth in the second stage (Rosignol Berbice to Georgetown) with a time of two hours, 23 minutes .02 seconds, finished second in a bunch time in 57 minutes 13 seconds from Wales (West Bank Demerara ) to Bushy Park (East Bank Essequibo), placed third in the fourth stage (Supenaam to Charity and back to Suddie on the Essequibo Coast) in a time of two hours 25 minutes and 20 seconds and then won yesterday’s final stage (Kara Kara, Linden to Georgetown) in a time of two hours, 35 minutes, 50 seconds finished with an overall time of nine hours, 58 minutes 51 seconds, bettering the time recorded by last year’s winner Robin Persaud who won the event last year in a time of 10 hours 26 minutes, .06 seconds.
Leal on the other hand placed fourth in the first stage (1.37:58), finished sixth in stage two (2.23:02), third in stage three (0.57:13), fifth in the fourth stage (2.26:01) and placed in a bunch finish for the other top places after Ospina had crossed the line minutes ahead of them. In the fifth stage, Leal recorded a bunch time of 3.39:27 to finish with an overall time of 10.03:31.

By Michael DaSilva