… Fernandes wins Veterans, Hamilton Females, Leung Juniors

TIME-trial specialist and favourite Raynauth Jeffrey emerged victorious on his 27th birthday at the National Time-Trials held yesterday on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway.
The first leg of the 2021 National Championships also saw Steven Fernandes riding to a victory in the Masters division, while Suzanne Hamilton continued her dominance by winning the Female division and Alex Leung the juniors.

The seniors and masters competed over a distance of 10 miles while the females and juniors battled over five miles.

US-based cyclist Jeffrey clocked an impressive 28:55.48 in the senior division. Curtis Dey finished second in 30:07.88 and Christopher Griffith placed third in 32:16:28.
A few other senior cyclists did not compete in the event, including last week’s first- and second-place finishers Briton John and Jamual John.

Fernandes, who won the Masters in 31:27.84, registered the third-best time overall. Second in the Masters division was Paul Choo-wee-nam (32:23.77), while Jaikarran Sukhai finished third (32:27.91)

Segun Hubbard (32:55.45) placed fourth, Kwame Ridley (33:12.38) fifth, Kwame Fortune (33:20.72) sixth, Nigel London (33:27.00) seventh, Kennard Lovell (37:05.99) eighth, Monty Lewis (37:33.28) ninth and Desmond Patterson (39:33.80) 10th.

In the female division, Hamilton, who won the Independence Three-Stage Meet, surged to 19:59.20, way ahead of her other competitors. Second place was won by Clivecia Spencer in a time of 22:18.31, while Shenika Tiexeira finished third in 24:34.37. Alecia Crandon placed fourth in 25:16.06 and Selena Stephens fifth in 29:07:18.

Thirteen-year-old Leung won the Junior division in a time of 17:38.00, while Sherwin Sampson finished second in 17:49.78 and Aaron Newton (17:54:80). David Hicks placed fourth in 18:27.88s and Mario Washington (19:03.98) fifth.

OUTSTANDING RAYNAUTH
It was Jeffrey’s eighth national time-trial win in Guyana. He told Chronicle Sport that he paced his race. According to information from his bike, which he shared online, his maximum speed was 65.9km per hour.

“You have to know how to maximise your effort and your time. A lot of people try too hard at the start, but you have to pace your ride, the average speed is what matters. It makes no sense starting fast and finishing slow.”
Jeffrey said that he was confident of a victory since he has been outstanding in the event in the past.

“I want to set a record that nobody can break. Means a lot that I’m the only one that did like eight times.”
He is unsure about the outcome of today’s 100-miler from Georgetown to Linden and back, but is ready to compete with the cream of the crop. “Anything can happen today.”

“From here we get to represent the country at the Caribbean Championships, which I’m looking forward to. One of my dreams before retiring from cycling is to medal at that championships.”
A national squad of five will be selected after the National Championships, to represent Guyana at the Caribbean Road Race Cycling Championships, scheduled for the Dominican Republic in July.