or the second time this week it was or the second time this week it was Team Coco’s Hamzah Eastman who out sprinted a five-man pack as into the chequered flag to cop the coveted first place position.
Eastman did so in the 26th R&R International Ltd’s 40-mile road race on Saturday which used the common East Coast Demerara route beginning in front of the Ocean View Hotel heading up to Mahaica and back.
The talented youngster denied 35 other contenders and braved the heavy winds and showers to complete the journey in a time of one hour 31 minutes and 36 seconds (01:31:36) as the five riders began the sprint from the University of Guyana access road.
Speaking with Guyana Times Sport, Eastman related that this is all part of his plans in aiming to become the number one rider by the end of the season, already having two wins under his belt.
He added that the race was a challenging one due to the severe change in weather since the last race which was hosted in Berbice and this was evident with a number of riders dropping out before even reaching quarter of the distance.
Eastman led his club mate to the line Jamaul John who came in second while Team Evolution’s Michael Anthony took the final podium spot. Continental rider, Geron Williams rode on fourth as Linden Bauxite Flyers’ Shaquel Agard cross the finish line fifth ahead of Alonzo Ambrose and Andrew Hicks in sixth and seventh respectively. The team Coco’s pair collected all six primes going three apiece.
The winners take a photo op with the sponsors and organisers of the 26th R&R International 40-mile road race(Romario Samaroo photo)
Meanwhile in the juniors’ category, Curtis Dey notched up the win ahead of the Berbice duo of Jason Cameron and Adealie Hodge in that order while Ozia McOlly won the Mountain Bike division.
In the Veterans unit, once again it was last year’s best veteran rider Team Coco’s Junior Niles who secured the victory as he was trailed by Team Alanis’ Paul Choo-wee-nam and Evolution’s Stephen Fernandes while Carlton Wheelers’ Jaikaran Sookhai claimed the fourth position.
Speaking at the event was race organiser, National Cycling Coach Hassan Mohamed who extended much gratitude to the sponsor of the event Jacob Rambarran for sponsoring the event for over two decades while it is touted that next year the event could be extended. In addition to that, the coach urged the riders to remain in steady competition but also promote the team effort like approach that the sport supports as he outlined the ram packed schedule for cycling activities over the next few weeks.
