… Event absent from cycling calendar for several years

THE Government of Guyana through the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport has stepped in to resuscitate Guyana’s flagship cycling event, the Three-Stage Independence Road Race. The announcement was made yesterday by the Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF).
The event is set for Saturday, May 15 and Sunday, May 16 and is awaiting approval from the COVID-19 Task Force.
According to Racing Secretary of the Guyana Cycling Federation, Malcolm Sonaram, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr, indicated the willingness of the ministry to fund the event. In a social media post, Sonaram noted that: “The Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF) is thankful that the Government through the Minister has stepped in and financed this marque event.” Sonaram told Chronicle Sport that the race was “the longest-running cycle race in Guyana’s history and we are overjoyed to see it return after the few years in hibernation”. National Cycling coach Hassan Mohamed in an invited comment called the event “prestigious” and said that it had attracted a number of overseas racers in the past.

The race ran from 1983 until 2016 before it was cancelled in 2017. Information from the GCF indicated that the race was cancelled because “…the Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF) and the traditional sponsors, the National Sports Commission (NSC) did not find common ground on the funding of the three-decade-old fixture.”
When the race started it was an upright cyclist competition and in the first year, it was won by Bissoon Pharbudin. When it was last held in 2016, Orville Hinds was crowned champion. This year, the first stage will pedal off in Berbice at 07:30hrs outside the Corriverton Police Station and end at Main and Alexander Streets in New Amsterdam. The second stage of the race will also be contested on Saturday, May 15. It is scheduled to start at 14:00hrs at the Rosignol Stelling and end on Carifesta Avenue in the Capital City. The final stage is billed for Sunday, May 16. Cyclists will race from Linden (07:30hrs start) to outside of the National Sports Commission, Homestretch Avenue in Georgetown.