By Avenash Ramzan
Any doubts about Alanzo Greaves being Guyana’s best cyclist in 2013 were put to rest last Saturday, when the Roraima Bikers Club rider surged to another commanding victory, this time in the feature race of the ninth annual Hand-in-Hand Insurance Limited’s 11-race programme at the inner circuit of the National Park.
The victory in the gruelling 35-lap School Boys and Invitational event was Greaves’ 20th win across all competitions this year, by far the most wins by a single rider since the season started in January.
The 24-year-old Digicel-sponsored rider crossed the finish line in a time of one hour, 21 minutes, 27 seconds (01h:21m:27s), in the process copping one of the eight prime prizes on offer.
Greaves’ nemesis Robin Persaud rode in second ahead of Hamzah Eastman, Michael Anthony, Paul DeNobrega and Albert Philander in that order.
DeNobrega and Godfrey Pollydore copped three prime prizes, while Philander claimed the other.
Prior to the main attraction, Rawle Small took top honours in the BMX Boys 12-14, beating off a challenge from Bryton John and Jaleel Jackson, who finished second and third respectively.
The BMX Boys 9-12 years was won by Sherwin Sampson ahead of Thuran Garbarran and Stephan Wilkinson, while Sampson returned to beat the competition in the BMX Boys 6-9, winning ahead of Alexander Leung and Shane Sue-Hang.
Junior Niles carted off the Veterans Under-50 race, beating defending champion Shameer Baksh into second and Kennard Lovell third, while Virgil Jones and Linden Blackman finished 1-2 in the Veterans Over-50 segment.
Adrian Sharma took top honours in the BMX Boys Open, leaving Daniel Fraser to settle for second and Deeraj Garbarran third.
In the 12-14 years Boys and Girls race, Alfie Soonoram took home the winner’s trophy, beating Romelo Crawford and Toshawnna Doris in the process.
Maurice Fagundes was the only rider in the Veterans Over-60, while Michael Anthony won the Junior race ahead of Mario King and Alonzo Ambrose in that order. Richard Charles, Ozia McUally and Stephano Husbands were 1-2-3 in the Mountain Bike event.
At the presentation ceremony which followed, national cycling coach and organiser of the day’s activities, Hassan Mohamed, thanked Hand-in-Hand Insurance Limited for its continued support to cycling, noting that corporate sponsorship is critical to the sport.
The company was represented by Customer Service Representatives, LaShanna Thompson and Bonicka Gordon, who both expressed their entity’s delight to partner with the cycling fraternity.
The establishment also continued its tradition of presenting BMX bikes to three promising cyclists. The beneficiaries were Bryton John, Jaleel Jackson and Thuran Garbarran.
