THE 4th Annual Wilbert Benjamin 50-mile cycle road race will be staged on Sunday in East Berbice and is expected to attract Guyana’s leading senior, junior, veteran, female and Under-16 cyclists.The event which is being organised by Randolph Roberts, coach of the Flying Ace Cycle Club (FACC) will wheel off from outside the Benjamin Sports Store at Fyrish, Corentyne and proceed to the Number 51 Village Police Station before returning to the place of origin for the finish.
Defending champion of the event and last year’s top performer locally, Orville Hinds of Team Gillette Evolution, is expected to be on his saddle to defend his title.
But he can expect stiff competition from a host of riders including the likes of Romelo Crawford who has already chalked up two victories for the 2016 season and which were contested along the very route that Sunday’s event will take.
Apart from Crawford, Hinds will also have to be wary of Marlon `Fishy’ Williams, Gerone `The Lone Soldier’ Williams, his team mate Raul Leal, Raynauth `Obeahman’ Jeffrey and Andrew Hicks.
The top six finishers will be handsomely rewarded financially as will the top three juniors, the top three veterans, the top three females and the top three Under-16 riders.
Eight prime prizes will also be up for grabs.
Benjamin, a native of Berbice, who is currently based in Canada where he owns a sports store, was a former national cyclist who represented Guyana at the Pan American and Texaco levels with some amount of success.
Benjamin recently donated a quantity of skin suits to his former club, FACC. Apart from the recent donation of suits; Benjamin has over the years been donating cycle equipment and other accessories to the club and the sport locally.
According to Roberts, the race is being staged in honour of Guyana’s Golden Jubilee and as such, an invitation has been extended to Guyana’s Head of State President David Granger for him to start the race.
Invitations have also been extended to Regional Chairman (Berbice) David Armogan and FACC’s Patron and former Mayor of New Amsterdam, Errol Alphonso.