Hamza Eastman rides away with Irene Benjamin 75th birth anniversary Cycle road race

Sep 23, 2014 Sports

Up and coming cyclist Hamza Eastman in a time of I hr: 47 minutes and 45 seconds on

A close finish as Eastman edges home ahead of Williams and De Nobrega.

Saturday rode away with the Irene Benjamin 60 miles cycle race. The event, which was held in observance of the 75th anniversary of Mrs. Irene Benjamin, was sponsored by overseas based Guyanese and former national cycling champion, Wilbert Benjamin along with the Benjamin family and the Benjamin Sports Store of Fyrish Corentyne Berbice. It was organized by the Flying Ace Cycling Club (FACC) of New Amsterdam.
Eastman, who has shown tremendous form this year, won the $75,000 first prize in a close battle from Marlon Williams with Paul De Nobrega riding in third, Steven Husbands fourth ahead of Raynauth Jeffery fifth with Robin Persaud rounding out the top six.
The event, which was one of the major events in Guyana and was open to all cyclists, saw some 36 riders from the various clubs in the country taking to the starting line. However the event got started more than an hour late due to the late arrival of the police outriders.
The race began with a flying start with the riders moving off from in front of the Benjamin Sports Store at Fyrish Village Corentyne, first heading in the opposite direct for about half a mile before turning back. As they were sent on their way they were quickly into their stride as they battled for the lucrative prize monies on offer.
The seniors however turned back at No 51 Police station instead of No 66, a distance of about 52 miles, instead of 60 miles due to the late start.

Winner Hamza Eastman collects his Champagne and monetary prize from Mrs. Irene Benjamin.

As the race got deeper there was no dominant force for a considerable while as the lead change hands constantly as some cyclists were dropped and returned to the leading bunch as the battle continued. As the leading pack approached the finishing line there was a sprint for home with Eastman edging out Williams and De Nobrega, while Husbands, Jeffrey and Persaud finished not too far behind.
The first junior to finish was Stephano Husbands, who won from Michael Anthony with Jamal John riding in third.
Junior Niles rode home first in the veteran category with Jaikarran Sukhai coming in second ahead of Gary Benjamin in third. The veteran riders turned back in front of Nand Persaud and Company Limited, covering a distance of 50 miles. The first female to cross the finish line was Christine Matheson with Deunce Welch and Nickey Payne occupying the other two spots. They rode from Rose Hall Town to the finish line and covered a distance of four miles.
Robin Persaud took two sprint point prizes, while Romalo Crawford, Hamza Eastman, Paul DeNobrega, Michael Anthony and Raynauth Jeffery grabbed one apiece.
The winner of the main event and the junior category also received a bottle of Champagne. The total prize package on the day was close to $400,000 in cash incentives and other goodies.
The cyclists were sent on their way by Mrs. Benjamin and members of her family who were also on hand to distribute the prizes.
The race was the third sponsored by the Benjamin Family so far for the year. The others were the Benjamin Sports Store cycle race and the Sanko Benjamin 80th birth anniversary race.
It was coordinated by popular cycling coach Randolph Roberts. (Samuel Whyte)