Memorial set for Saturday
THE Roraima Bikers Club (RBC) fourth annual George ‘Boy Blue’ Cumberbatch Memorial cycle programme is set to pedal off this Saturday in the National Park from 09:00h, with 10 races including the Junior/Juvenile 30 laps feature event, being slated for the day.

At a simple presentation ceremony held in the office of sponsor George Humphrey a former president of RBC and managing director of Humphrey Bakery and Farm Products (HBFP), both Odella Daniels who is the Accountant at HBFP and Clifford ‘Toto’ Johnson presented RBC’s president Brian Allen with the sponsorship cheque for this year’s event.

In an invited comment with Chronicle Sport, Johnson who rode alongside the late Cumberbatch and is also a former national cycling champion, said he was willing to be a part of this year’s programme which is being held in memory of an outstanding cyclist who represented the country with honour.

Like Cumberbatch, Johnson who is also a past president of RBC and vice president of the Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF), also represented Guyana, which was then British Guiana, in cycling with adequate success, enjoying the 1953 to 1954 cycling season on the international scene, when he won five races along with a second and one third place finish in neighbouring Suriname.

“On that tour, both Cumberbatch and I had lots of success, as we outsprinted our fellow British Guianese as well as Trinidad and Tobago and Surinamese counterparts and even up to today, I still have vivid memories of us competing together for our country, giving cycling enthusiasts a tight finish at the line,” said Johnson.

Even though he is not an active member of RBC or even the GCF, Humphrey has always been throwing his support into cycling on the local scene and having done so for the past three years for this event, never thought twice on doing so this time around.

This year’s programme which is being jointly sponsored by HBFP and Johnson reads as follows:  7-11yrs BMX(2 laps), 12-14 yrs BMX (3 laps),  Open BMX (3 laps), Mountain Bike/ Upright (open 10 laps with3 sprint prizes), Veterans Under 50( 6 laps), Veterans Over 50 (6 laps), Category 1 and 2 (10 laps), Category 3 and 4 (10 laps), Junior/Juvenile (10 laps) and Racing Cycles Open (30 laps with 10 sprint prizes).

In last year’s event held at the said venue, Christopher Holder Jnr won the feature event from Junior Niles, Grant Stuart, Robin Persaud, Albert Philander and Christopher Persaud respectively, while Tyrone Hamilton took the Category 1 and 2 10 laps race from Raymond Newton and Robin Persaud respectively.

Geron Williams is the defending champion in the Junior/Juvenile 10 laps event, having won same from Holder Jnr and Neil Reece respectively, while Darren Allen is the Categories 3 and 4 defending champion, having taken that event which went for 10 laps, from Philander and Kester Croal respectively.