St Claire calls GCF National Championships a success

…says focus now turns to funding, constitution and team selection

By Michelangelo Jacobus

Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF) General Secretary Mark St Claire has described the just-concluded 2026 National Championships as a success, crediting planning and coordination for the smooth staging of the event, while noting that the Federation still has work to do in issuing championship jerseys to the category winners.
“The Championships, this year, I would say that it was a success based on the planning that the Federation would have put into it. The only thing that was missing was the issuing of the championship jerseys. Each category winner should have received a championship cycling jersey and that is something we are still working on,” St Claire said.

The Championships concluded on Sunday with the National Road Race along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway, where cyclists battled rolling hills, heat and a brief storm to bring the 2026 edition to a close.
“All in all, the success came about from planning and having everyone onboard in terms of their various tasks for the actual hosting and execution of the event itself, so that is a plus,” St Claire added.
The feature Elite Men’s Road Race was won by Briton John, who returned to local competition and reclaimed the national crown after missing the 2025 edition. Andre Greene finished second in the Elite category, while Alex Mendes completed the podium in third.
St Claire said John’s performance again underlined the value of overseas competition and exposure.
He divulged, “Just to throw some light on the Elites, ‘cause that’s where much of the national team selection will come from, Briton John, who rides more overseas than in Guyana, it shows a level of competition how he rode away for this road race. That is something we ought to try and push some of our youngsters towards, have them riding more overseas.”

In the Under-23 category, Ajani Cutting continued his strong form by winning the title ahead of Sidwell Sandy, while last year’s overall and Under-23 winner Aaron Newton finished third.
St Claire said the performances of the younger cyclists were among the major positives of the Championships, pointing to training, investment and recent exposure outside of Guyana as possible factors.
“In terms of the youngsters, this year, we recognise that the U23 and the Juniors, they performed very well, I can’t give you directly what contributed to it, but on the part of my club [Kaieteur Attack Racing Cycle Club], I would say it is all about training and investment.”
St Claire continued, “Some of the youngsters went to Trinidad this year with the assistance of the National Sports Commission, Mr [Steve] Ninvalle and obviously through the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport. I think that itself helped them. I know young Alexander Leung [Continental], he was in Trinidad for a period, training and riding track. Sidwell Sandy was also there, Ajani Cutting was there, Alex Newton should have gone, but owing to CXC exams, he did not, his brother Aaron Newtown, he was in the US riding for Team Foundation in New York. The youngsters are giving their best and they are coming up in the way I think they should once they continue to receive the necessary support.”
St Claire identified Alex Newton’s win over Alexander Leung in the Junior Road Race and Cutting’s Under-23 victory over Aaron Newton as two of the standout moments of the Championships.
“The biggest surprise for this championship might have been young Alex Newton beating Alexander Leung and Ajani Cutting dethroning Aaron Newton; young Sidwell Sandy also did well because he came second in the U23 category,” he noted.
Other road race winners included Denise Jeffery in the female category, Tandeia Noel in the junior female category, Kristian Jeffrey in Masters 35+, Alex Newton in the Juniors, and Nigel London in Masters 50+.
The Championships began on June 14 with the Individual Time Trials at the National Park. Marcus Keiler won the Elite title, while Alexander Leung, Aaron Newton and Denise Jeffrey retained their respective category titles.
The results from the Championships are expected to help guide Guyana’s selection process for upcoming international assignments. The Junior Caribbean Championships are scheduled for August 22-23 in Belize, while the Elite and Under-23 Road Cycling Championships are tentatively set for November.
“But it is a task in getting funding, we now at the Federation level will have to take that into consideration, in order to find the necessary funding to get them to go to the Caribbean Championships that is upcoming,” St Claire said.
He explained that the national team would largely be drawn from the Elite and Under-23 categories, while the junior programme will also be considered for regional competitions.
“The naming of the national team will involve most of the Elites and U23, really and truly, normally the Caribbean Championships asks for eight cyclists to make up the national team, but there is a Junior Championship which will now involve just the three Juniors we have here – Alexander Leung, Alex Newton and young Kevin Stephen out of Linden,” St Claire said.
Looking ahead, he said the Federation must now focus on its finances and internal structure, with elections due next year.
“I think we have some good prospects in terms of the U23 and the Elites going forward, so for the Federation, we have to fix our finances; more importantly we have to address our constitution because come next year March, there is an election for a new President, a new Federation more or less, for a four-year term, so that in essence is the direction of the GCF now,” he said.
“We want to address the constitution before the next election.”