GCF President shares views on 2014 performance and projections for 2015

Jan 29, 2015 Sports

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By Franklin Wilson
When it comes to competition, cyclists in Guyana have been very busy over the years but we have not been able to dominate and get the better of our

Caribbean counterparts at the senior level for quite some years now.
Our junior riders have been holding their own but somehow they get subsumed and lose their way when they graduate to the senior ranks.
With this in mind, Kaieteur sport sought the views of the Guyana Cycle Federation (GCF) President Ms. Cheryl Thompson on the performance of her federation during 2014 and to let readers get an idea of how she intend to guide the body.
Following are the questions posed and the answers given.
FW: How did the sport in your estimation perform in 2014 based on your 2013 projections?   CT: Cycling has performed creditably in 2014 based on my 2013 projections. When we look at the performances of both the elite and junior riders on the international and local stages we could have done much better but lacked proper equipment especially for Time Trials events, this was one of the many obstacles.
Funding was also a sore area and it is my wish and hope that the GCF Financial Committee could improve in their projections for 2015 and commence early with our programme, bearing in mind our first event is scheduled in the first quarter of the year.
The GCF has successfully staged over 50 fully sponsored cycling events in 2014 and we managed to have approximately 8 highly paid events which were the three stage, five stage (NSC), Ounce of Gold sponsored by the Mohamed Kadir Family, Digicel Breast Awareness road races; Troy Humphrey Memorial as well as another three highly paid events organised by Mr. Randolph Roberts of the Flying Ace Cycling Club in Berbice.
FW: Are you satisfied that the sport has grown during the period under review?
CT: Certainly the sport has grown, I have now seen a group of serious junior and juvenile cyclists emerging and they are being assisted by one of the most active Coaches, Mr. Dwayne (Road Hog) Gibbs. With this continued trend I am most certain that greater things should be expected both in the local and international arenas in 2015.
FW: How did the athletes do on the local, Caribbean and International levels?
CT: At the Elite Championships held in Puerto Rico, our cyclists performed creditably, both riders, Raynauth Jeffrey and Marlon Williams competing in the Time trials placed in the top 10. At the Commonwealth Games, the weather was a major factor which prohibited our cyclists from not performing well. The juniors did very well and could have done even better at the Junior Caribbean Championships in Suriname where we won a bronze medal.
Such was the dominance of our juniors that we made a clean sweep of the Road Race and Time Trials at the Inter Guiana Games also in Suriname.
FW: Do you believe that enough is being done from the GCF stand point for the development of the sport?
CT: More could have been done, but the federation had lost quite a number of its administrators. I would share the blame for not pushing for the development plan, workshops and seminars for administrators, coaches and cyclists. Presently they are over 15qualified coaches.
The federation certainly has to resuscitate the Coaches Association and have these persons licensed and properly utilized with a programme in place where other regions could benefit.
FW: Sponsorship continues to be one of the main challenges for the GCF and traveling teams, who are some of the entities/individuals that would have supported the GCF during the year? CT: We have received support from the Guyana Olympic Association, Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Digicel, John Fernandes Limited, DeSinco Trading Inc., Humphrey’s Bakery, Pomeroon Food and Beverage Company Ltd., Mr. Andrew Arjoon, Mr. Raymond Peres. Mr. Horace Burrowes and Mr. Ian Davis.
FW: What is the federation’s view of the Hassan Mohamed’s programmes and its contributions to the overall development of the sport?
CT: The Federation’s view is that more could be done; probably begin with the introduction of some theoretical programmes for the summer training programme and this should be extended to Linden and Berbice.
FW: What are your projections for 2015?
CT: To ensure that the cyclists identified to represent Guyana overseas have full financial sponsorship by the federation and the continued structured development programme for the juniors and juvenile is fully utilized by the cyclists identified by the GCF.
We would like to see our elite cyclists improve their team work during local races and to ensure better results at home and abroad. This is election year and I do hope the administrator elected would continue to work in the interest and development of the cyclists with discipline and respect being paramount.

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