After finishing second on Saturday behind teammate Cortis “Chappy” Dey, Romello Crawford held off 2017’s top cyclist Jamual John on the back stretch to cross the finish line and claim first place and 15 points in the Guyana Cycling Federation’s (GCF) first ‘Points’ race of 2018 on Sunday.
Crawford who is known as a sprinter held with the peloton and eventually gapped them along with John on the return from Long Creek on the Linden/Soesdyke Highway.
Jamual John had to finish the race with a flat back tire but still did well to grab second place
However, on Mandela Avenue (Back Road) John suffered a flat back tire; “basically I was riding on rims” he noted.
Despite having a flat John kept pace with Crawford but could not make the final sprint; “if I had both tires it would have been a different story” John pointed out.
Crawford finished first in a time of three hours 10 minutes 22 seconds to take 15 points while John settled for second and 12 points. Coming not too far behind was Andrew Hicks who copped third and 10 points.
The race for fourth, fifth and sixth was a tight call as Hamzah Eastman, Paul DeNobrega and Cortis Dey pushed each other across the finish line; the latter executed a perfect bike throw but it was too little too late as Eastman grabbed fourth and eight points while DeNobrega collected fifth with six points.
After his National Park exploits on Saturday, Dey settled for sixth and five points; however he too explained to Guyana Times Sport that he was keeping with the chasing pack but a puncture stopped him on the return leg; he revealed that instead of waiting up for him, the other riders left him for dead thus he had to make up ground and did well to finish in the top six.
Romello Crawford eases across the finish line ahead of Jamual John (foreground) to take the first GCF ‘Points’ Race of 2018
Other riders said that the race was tiring and the hills on the Linden/Soesdyke Highway felt like mountains under the blistering sun.
The race began from just outside the National Sports Commission (NSC) headquarters on Homestretch Avenue, proceeded to Long Creek on the Linden/Soesdyke Highway and then back to the point of origin for the finish. (Michelangelo Jacobus)
