Over $900,000 up for grabs

–Cancer Institute set to benefit big time

On the morning of Sunday October 22, cyclists will converge at the outer circuit of the National Park in Georgetown in a bid to pocket cash prizes and trophies to the value of $900,000 when the sixth annual Digicel Cancer Awareness Cycle race pedals off.
At the official launch of the event on Tuesday afternoon at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC), Marketing Manager of Digicel, Ramesh Rupchand had some heartening news for the Cancer Institute of Guyana. “This year, the registration fees we get from the event, we (Digicel) are going to match it as a company, we are going to make that contribution to the Cancer Institute of Guyana, we are very happy to be doing this,” Rupchand revealed.

Meanwhile, President of the Evolution Cycling Club, Keith Fernandes announced that this year’s meet will feature seven categories. Those categories are a race which will feature Digicel’s staff, Mountain Bikers and Novices (5 laps), Seniors (35 Laps), Juniors (35 Laps), the Over-45 and the Under-45 (10 laps).
The Evolution Cycling Club is now in its third year of collaboration with Digicel at hosting the event. Fernandes pointed out that as such it has become an event that cyclists in the country look forward to; he also noted that with the end of the cycling season not far away, Guyana’s top cyclists will be a part of the event. He explained that the cyclists are proud to be a part of the awareness raising event.
Registration for the event is $2000 but cyclists may contribute more towards the cause. The race will begin from Irving Street then proceed north to Carifesta Avenue, then West along Camp Road before moving east along Thomas Lands to complete a lap.
The defending champion in the feature event (Seniors’ 35-lap race) is Team Coco’s Jamaul John who held off Raul Leal last year to win the event in a time of two hours, 54 minutes and 11.72s. However with Geron Williams and Raynauth “Obeah Man” Jeffrey back on the local scene, John will face an uphill task if he is to retain his title. John currently sits on top of the Guyana Classification table and has been very successful over the past year.