Ramirez wins overall title in record time

– Junior champion DeNobrega wins final stage

By Avenash RAmzan

Team Coco’s Jaime Ramirez emerged as the overall winner of the sixth annual ‘Ride for Life’ Five-Stage cycling meet that concluded on Sunday in Georgetown, but it was Guyanese Paul DeNobrega, who stole the spotlight in the final stage of the gruelling 266-mile event.

Ramirez took the title in the senior category in record time while DeNobrega, also riding with Team Coco, copped the junior title.
Ramirez, who won the first stage from Corriverton to New Amsterdam on Thursday morning, clocked a blistering nine hours, 46 minutes, 51 seconds (09: 46: 51) to erase the previous record of 10 hours, 29 minutes, 39 seconds (10: 29: 39) achieved last year by another Team Coco rider, Michael Larsen.
Teenager DeNobrega finished in the runner-up spot with a time of nine hours, 57 minutes, 01 second (09: 57: 01), while Antonio Alarton copped the third position in a time of nine hours, 58 minutes, 07 seconds (09: 58: 07).
Rounding off the top ten were Guyana’s Raynauth Jeffrey (09: 59: 59), Team Coco’s Darren Matthews (10: 00: 42), Aruba’s Gino Hodge (10: 05: 19); Guyana’s Eric Sankar (10: 05: 25), overseas-based Guyanese Paul Choo Wee Nam (10: 05: 36) and the Suriname duo of Murvim Arumjo (10: 05: 37) and Moses Ricketts (10: 06: 02).
So dominant was Ramirez’s display at this year’s event, he carted off the lion’s share of prime prizes – a whopping 11 of out of 30. Matthews (six), Enzo Matthew (three), DeNobrega (three), Kester Croal (two), and Jaikarran Sukhai, Jeffrey, Ivan Dominguez, Andre Simon and Geron Williams with one each, shared the other prime prizes.
In the junior division, DeNobrega won ahead of Jeffrey and Raul Leal, who occupied second and third spots respectively. The top Veteran rider was Kennard Lovell, with Junior Niles coming in second and Ian Jackson third.
Three special prizes were awarded to 14-year-old Jornell Yearwood of Linden, and the only two female riders, Hazina Barrett and Naomi Singh. The trio was rewarded for their courage in participating in the race.
In Sunday’s final stage from Linden to Homestretch Avenue, which covered 62 miles, DeNobrega was the first to cross the finish line in a time of two hours, 35 minutes, 58 seconds (02: 35: 58). Ramirez and Alarton, who trailed DeNobrega, was given the same bunch time, while Sankar, Arumjo, Choo Wee Nam and Devanand Bissoon came in a second time bunch and were timed at two hours, 39 minutes, 38 seconds (02: 39: 38).
At the presentation ceremony, which followed at the National Cultural Centre, Sport Minister Dr. Frank Anthony, said he was happy to see an improvement in the quality of the race, which he said was due to the presence of international competitors. Riders from the United States of America, Barbados, Aruba and Suriname participated in the four-day event.
The Minister pointed out that the lowering of the overall time for the fifth successive year is a clear indication of the competitiveness nature of the race.
Commenting on the fact that several of Guyana’s leading junior riders, including DeNobrega and Jeffrey, opted to ride for Team Coco instead of their country, is a move that can only serve to boost the riders’ development, Anthony said.
However, he challenged the Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF) to have open discussions on the way forward for the sport, since the aim should be to formulate a strong junior team for the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Brazil.
Anthony believes that an elite programme should be set up, which can be worked out through partnerships with entities such as Team Coco.