Guyana’s duo of Paul De Nobrega and Junior Niles ended participation at the 32nd Pan-American Road Cycling Championships Elite Race in the 44th and 69th positions of the Elite Race which took place at the Mirador Sur Park, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Sunday.
The Guyana Cycling team in Dominican Republic ; from right, Hamza Eastman, Andre Hicks, Paul De Nobrega, Romello Crawford, Junior Niles and Jamal John
The gruelling 170km contest on the 10km circuit presented perhaps the highest level of competition for the local duo and they did their best coming against the best riders from the continent.
The winner of the contest was Columbia’s Andres Martinez in 3:18.47 followed by Mexico’s Alfredo Infante, Sebastian Benavides (Columbia), Francisco Chamorro (Argentina) and Ignacio Maldonado of Uruguay. Barbadian Phillip Clarke ended 13thwith Cuban, Felix Fernandez 14th.
On Saturday, the Under-23 riders took center stage in the 140km race which saw Hamza Eastman ending 20th and Jamal John 36th. Andrew Hicks who after looking good and was challenging for a podium position suffered cramping and had to settle for the 69th place of 71 starters.
On the local scene, riders are not accustomed to such long races which made the exposure important for the Guyanese riders and beg of the Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF) and other organisers of races here to ensure that longer races are done for the development and competitive development of the talented riders.
Some 240 riders from 27 nations including Cuba, France, Venezuela, Chile, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, Haiti, USA, Brazil and Honduras. There was also a female segment of the race whilst Time Trials were also held.
The participation of the Guyana team in Santo Domingo would have been due in part to the contributions of Hadi’s World, Marics and Farfan & Mendes. President of the International Cycling Union (UCI), Brian Cookson attended the championship.
