The 12th edition of Du Grand Prix Boulangerie Albert held on Sunday was won by 20-year-old Thebyne Ludwig of French Guiana, while Patrice De Nays and Zephirin Jairus placed second and third respectively.
However, the Guyanese duo of Michael Anthony and Orville Hinds rode brilliantly on the toughest race to date in French Guiana. It was a gruelling 134-kilometre race into the mountains of Cacao with slopes of 10 to 14 per cent.
Thebyne Ludwig (second left) and Michael Anthony (second right)
The race began with 75 starters, but only 30 riders completed the event. Anthony placed fifth in the elite category and first in category three (3), while Hinds finished in the bunch. He was very aggressive from the get-go and midway into the race, Hinds and Teddy Ringuet had a lead of more than three minutes on the chasing peloton, but Hinds slowed down as he became dehydrated. The two breakaway riders were then caught by a charging peloton; after that, there were lots of overtaking as a winning break of nine riders was established and from this group, Ludwig emerged victorious.
Ludwig was the strongest and most persistent on the race between Cayenne and Cacao. He won by keeping up in the last kilometres with veteran Patrice De Nays, who finished for the second time of the season on the second step of the podium. After 30 seconds, third place was decided in a sprint between Cliff Apinsa and Jaïr Léo Zéphyrin who jumped his opponent on the finish line.
Ludwig joins the club of recent winners with Ludovic Dantin, winner in 2016 for the Southern Cross, Marc Joseph of the Vélo Club Guynais in 2015, and Ludovic Exfort of the Vélo Club De Kourou in 2014.
