Walter Grant-Stuart crowned national masters cycling champion

− Hamilton, Newton victorious in female, junior categories respectively

Walter Grant-Stuart was in attack mode as he cruised to a comfortable win, conquering the roads under cool conditions to emerge as the national cycling masters champion for 2021, clocking in at two hours 29 minutes and 32 seconds.
Top female cyclist Suzanne Hamilton clinched the female crown while Aaron Newton topped the junior category. The cyclists weathered early-morning showers as they battled for supremacy. The females rode 25 miles while juniors and masters rode for 50 miles around a circuit that is 6.25 miles long, pedalling off from KK Gas Station up New Road and down Old Road in Mahaica before returning for the finish at the point of origin.

National female
champion Suzanne Hamilton

In the masters category, Junior Nyles rode in second while Jaikarran Sukhai came third. Team Evolutions’ Steve Fernandes took fourth place while Johan Burrowes came in fifth. Pre-race masters favourite Alex Mendes, who is topping the Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF) points classifications, fell in the race while attempting a turn.

National junior champion Aaron Newton

Hamilton, who won the Culture, Youth and Sport Ministry’s Independence Three-Stage event earlier this month and the time trials, completed a clean sweep. After the race, she said it was a challenging one as a result of the route and the wet conditions. She also indicated that she was hoping that she was considered to represent Guyana at the Caribbean championship in the near future.

National masters champion Walter Grant-Stuart

Meanwhile, junior champion Newton described the race as a difficult one, but he held his nerve to come out on top. He said he was sitting in the peloton, but he got away in the third lap and rode solo from there on. The 16-year-old rider is a rider from the We Stand United Cycle Club that continues to produce top riders in Guyana. Alex Leung was the top Under-16 junior.