Clinical Williams takes Digicel Cancer Awareness Cycling title
By Michelangelo Jacobus
Guileful riding by professional cyclist Geron Williams ensured that he added Digicel’s Cancer Awareness Cycling title to his ever-growing list of accolades on Sunday at the outer circuit of the National Park.
Geron Williams celebrates as he crosses the finish line ahead of Curtis “Chappy” Dey
Last year’s winner Jamaul John dropped out of the feature 35-lap race, citing fatigue and the blistering sun as factors; however, Williams who stuck with the lead pack for the entirety of the race conserved energy as much as possible never letting Paul DeNobrega, Curtis “Chappy” Dey nor Andrew Harris out of his sight.
The Foundation rider made his move in the penultimate lap, but he was followed by Dey. The sprint to the finish line was never in doubt as Williams is known for his clinical finishes; this was yet another fine example of tactical riding as he crossed the finish line ahead of Dey to win in two hours 54 minutes and 19 seconds.
Jornel Yearwood came in third; Andrew Hicks, fourth, Mark Harris, fifth and DeNobrega, sixth.
The winners look on as Digicel’s CEO Gregory Dean hands over the cheque to Dr Syed Ghazi of the Guyana Cancer Institute
In the junior category, Dey carried away the trophy and first prize while Briton John and Adealie Hodge were second and third respectively.
In the Veterans Over-45 event, Ian “Dumb Boy” Jackson claimed the accolade for first place with Kennard Lovell and Amrit Sankar taking second and third place respectively.
Meanwhile, Junior Niles was impressive in the U-45 veterans’ race, finishing first ahead of Paul Cho Wee Nam and Stephen Fernandes in that order.
The Prime prizes for the feature race were shared by Williams, who claimed three, and Walter Grant Stuart and Dey, who snared one apiece.
The Digicel Cancer Awareness Cycling meet is in its sixth year of existence, and this year has been the third consecutive year that the Evolution Cycling Club has collaborated with the telecommunications giant to organise the event.
Digicel at the event handed over a cheque worth $472,000 to the Cancer Institute of Guyana; the money was raised from registration fees and private donations from individuals which Digicel matched as a company to reach that figure.
