CYCLE coach Hassan Mohamed will stage the 16th Annual P&P Insurance Brokers and Consultants-sponsored 11-race cycle programme around the inner circuit of the National Park beginning at 08:00hrs today.The event, which is being staged in collaboration with the Carlton Wheelers Cycle Club, is expected to attract Guyana’s top wheelsmen who will do battle in the feature 35-lap race that is open to schoolboys, novices and invitational cyclists from across Guyana.
Defending champion Paul DeNobrega will be out to make a successful defence of the title he won last year in a time of one hour 16 minutes 66.21 seconds, since he will be coming up against the likes of the in-form Geron Williams, who is the 2016 national road race champion along with other in-form riders such as Team Evolution’s Orville Hinds, Michael Anthony, Marlon `Fishy’ Williams and Raul Leal, along with Andrew Hicks and Romelo Crawford of Berbice among others.
Anthony won last Sunday’s 35-mile road race over in the West Demerara area in convincing fashion ahead of Geron Williams and could be the biggest danger to DeNobrega, but that is providing Geron Williams is not a part of the event.
Last year, the 10-lap juvenile category was won by Jamal John in a time of 22 minutes 43.20 seconds and he is highly favoured to repeat that performance today.
In the five-lap event for veterans’ Shameer Baksh who won the race last year in a time of 12 minutes 16.39 seconds will be hard-pressed to stave off the challenge of the national Veterans champion Junior Niles along with Stephen Fernandes and Linden Blackman among others.
Shane Boodhram is the defending champion of the mountain bikers’ five-lap race, while Toshwana Doris will be out to repeat her last year’s performance in the 12-14 years three-lap race which she won with a time of eight minutes 27.11 seconds.
A representative of the P&P Insurance Brokers and Consultants Agency will be on hand to assist with the presentation of prizes to the respective winners.