SEASONED cyclist, Marlon Williams, maintained a fast pace to emerge victorious in the Guyana Cycling Federation Time Trial, which was held in the capital city yesterday morning.

The Team Evolution rider finished the 5.07-mile race in 11:18:39, just ahead of Jamual John (11:26:04) and Briton John (11:38:70).

The event was the first of three time trials, which are being used to re-start the sport after a lengthy break due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Thirty-three cyclists took part in the early morning race, which had them starting every two minutes to maintain social distancing.  The participants pedalled off from Sparendaam, headed west through Kitty then turned at the roundabout before finishing at the COVID-19 Hospital in Liliendaal.

The 33-year-old Williams, who dedicated the win to his late father, who would have celebrated his birthday on Friday, told the Guyana Chronicle that his objective was to keep his pace up.

“It’s one constant effort, you can’t go easy, time lost is hard to regain.”

His average speed was 27.1 mph with a maximum speed of 30.3 mph.

The former Caribbean Senior Road Racing Champion noted that although he enjoyed the short time trial, he prefers a longer distance race.

Marcus Keiler finished fourth overall in 11:47:26, while Kwame Ridley, who was the first Group Two cyclist to cross the finish line, finished fifth overall in 12:06:92.

Ridley was followed by Alex Mendes, (12:09:61), Nigel London (12:30:92), Balram Narine (12:38:45) Paul DeNobrega (12:40:70) and Raymond Newton (12:57:26).

Meanwhile, 2019 Time Trial Female Champion, Denise Jeffrey finished 19th overall in a time of 15:30:42, while Suzanne Hamilton placed 20th in 15:41:33.

Aaron Newton, who finished 22nd overall in 16:14:39, was the first junior across the finish line. Alex Leung (25th in 17:12:09) was the second junior and Mario Washington (27th in 17:44:24) the third.

The other events in the series are scheduled for November 29 in Berbice and December 6 in Linden.

According to information from the federation, in each time trial, the top three participants will be rewarded; and based on the overall accumulated time placements, the top six will be rewarded after the three events.