Team Cocos cyclist Marcus Keiler stopped the clock at two hours, nine minutes and 45 seconds in the Courts 50-miler yesterday in Berbice to claim the title.
With this race being open to cyclists countrywide, Keiler cruised to a smooth victory while Berbician Andre ‘Padlock’ Green, completed a tight finish in second position ahead of Romello Crawford (third), Paul DeNobrega (fourth) and Balram Narine (fifth).
Andre “Padlock” Green sprinted his heart out for second
The race commenced from Courts New Amsterdam unto Nand Persaud Number 36 Village and returned to the point of origin for the finish. A small incident had occurred at the inception with cyclists colliding. That did not stop the Berbice fans from witnessing some high-profile cycling action.
In addition to the top five finishers in the open, Marlon ‘Fishy’ Williams came in sixth followed by Linden’s Michael Anthony seventh and Team Evolution’s, Christopher Griffith.
Keiler, riding in only his second race of the year, bagged five sprint prizes while Deeraj Gharbaran claimed two. Griffith accounted for one sprint prize. Proceeding to the turning point, Keiler maintained a spot in the leading bunch.
Keiler finished in style leaving the dust behind
Upon the turning point and the race for the finish, Keiler broke away from the bunch in the Port Mourant area and took a comfortable lead to finish in first position. Green and Crawford were the centre of attention in the leading bunch.
At the Canje bridge, the pack turned up the tempo but Green in a tense battle with the other cyclists came in second, while Crawford and followed inches behind.
Meanwhile, the veteran category was another heated battle. Topping that category was Alexis Mendes followed by Paul Choo-wee-nam. In the junior category, Jeremiah Joseph came in first position while David Hicks and Steve Bhimsen were the other finishers, in that order. After the race, Keiler stated that this win was a real improvement in his game.
Top cyclists with Cycling officials and Courts representaives at the Presentation ceremony
Reflecting on how the race unfolded, Keiler had this to say, “first it was me and four other guys that broke away, after that I thought the race was finished then but the other cyclist came back and mid-way through the race I decided to pedal away.”
With the two-stage Burnham race set for today Monday (February 24), Keiler disclosed that he is planning on recording a win but he is keen on assessing his body condition on the given day. His goal for the 2020 cycling season is to win as much races as possible and to claim the senior championships in Guyana.
