Orville Hinds rode to victory in the third and final stage and in the process defended his title at the Ministry of Education/National Sports Commission/Guyana Cycling Federation 34th annual Independence three-stage cycle meet. The inform Team Evolution cyclist stopped the clock at 2 hours 54 minutes and 41 seconds making light work of Team Alanis and junior rider Deoraj Garbaran (2H:54M:56S) after the two came in well ahead of the others.
Out of the fifty seven that contested the first stage, thirty seven out of the forty one eligible cyclists took to the starting line in the mining town of Linden yesterday for the schedule 8 am start to the final and most demanding of the three stages. Experiencing the occasional showers along the highway, several attempts were made by cyclists to break loose of the peloton with none looking threatening and proving successful.
With the main peloton approaching the village of Coverden along the east bank of the Demerara River, Deoraj Garbaran made a decisive move away from the main pack with only Hinds being best able to respond. The pair rode unchallenged from there on with Hinds crossing the finish line in front of the National Sports Commission’s office along Homestretch Avenue in Georgetown, well ahead of his
Minister within the Ministry of Education Nicolette Henry, at centre, and National Cycling Coach Hassan Mohamed, right, pose with winners of the 34th annual Independence Cycle MeetJunior cyclist Deoraj Garbaran of Team Alanis rode a brave race
counterpart. Speaking to Guyana Times Sport Garbaran said that though it was a very tough ride it was one of his best overall.
Finishing the stage in third position was Marlon “Fishy” Williams of Team Evolution (2H: 56M: 41S) followed by his teammate Raul Leal.
Team Evolution’s overall dominance on local cycling was highlighted with them taking the top three and four of the top five overall positions.
Hinds who also won the first stage and placed second in the second stage finished with an overall time of 7H:10M:07S after covering approximately 170 miles of Guyana’s road and highways. Speaking to this publication, Hinds said that it offers him a great feeling to be able to defend his crown and looks forward to the upcoming National Championships. Rounding off the overall top five were Michael Anthony (Evolution) 7H: 12M: 46S, Marlon Williams (Evolution) 7H: 14: 02S, Shaquille Agard (Linden Bauxite Flyers) 7H: 14M: 10S and Raul Leal (Evolution) 7H: 14M: 40 placing second, third, fourth and fifth respectively.
Raphael Leung of team We Stand United (WSU) 7:21:47 won the juniors category followed by Andrew Hicks (Coco) 7:22:59 and Christopher Cornelius (Evolution) 7:25:05.
The veterans category was won by Junior Niles (Coco) 7:16:34, with Stephen Fernandes (Evolution) 7:21:57 and Raymond Newton (Roraima Bikers) 7:23:14 place second and third respectively.
