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34th MoE/NSC/GCF Independence 3-Stage Cycle Road Race…Hinds and Leung retain senior and junior titles; Niles is king of the veterans
By Franklin Wilson
Employing strategic and flawless tactics, the duo of Orville Hinds (Team Evolution) and Raphael Leung (United Cycle Club) successfully defended their respective senior and junior titles with Junior Niles (Team Coco’s) taking the veterans crown when the curtains came down on the 34th edition of the Ministry of Education (MoE)/National Sports Commission (NSC)/Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF), Three Stage Cycle Road Race, yesterday.
Jubilee Moment! The Overall and other winners will cherish this moment with Minister Henry following the presentation ceremony yesterday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
Held as part of the calendar of activities to commemorate Guyana’s Golden Jubilee of Independence, the race which also attracted cyclists from Anguilla, saw the Ministry sharing out close to $500,000 in cash incentives apart from trophies.
Water to keep the competitors refreshed and hydrated was supplied by Demerara Distillers Limited.
Hinds rode beautifully to win yesterday’s final stage from Linden to the City to end the event as he started, with victory. While the overall winning time of (7:10:07) was slower than last year’s (6:52:26) it was sweet victory nonetheless for Hinds and Team Evolution; he credited his team members for helping to craft the win.
Minister within the Ministry of Education with responsibility for Sport Ms. Nicolette Henry in brief remarks prior to distributing the prizes complimented all the cyclists but singled out the respective category winners for riding brilliantly over the two days of the race to come out on top.
“I look forward to continuing to support this event and I hope to see, as we move forward, this event growing into something a little bigger than where it is today. This event forms part of the calendar of activities for our 50th Independence Anniversary celebrations and on that note I would like to wish all of you, happy 50th Independence Anniversary and congratulations to the organisers, the spectators, the media, the staff and all who worked tirelessly for this event to be a success, thank you.”
In winning yesterday’s final stage, Hinds clocked 2 Hours 54 Minutes 41 Seconds and was followed by Deraj Garbarran who also rode beautifully for second in 2:54:56.
Commenting on his back to back success, Hinds said the feeling is great while showering praise on his teammates for the job they did in assisting him.
“We did the work, did the training and we reaped success. I would like to say thanks to God, my team, supporters, manager and the organisers of the race. It is a great feeling to defend my title and I am looking forward to it next year.”
Commenting on the race overall, Hinds stated that it was challenging. “It was a lot of men racing and you don’t know who is who, so I had to use my brains and racing tactics to come out on top. It is not an easy challenge at all.”
The Team Evolution rider returned from French Guiana last Monday where he revealed that he competed in a 5-stage race and finished 14th overall but won the longest stage which covered a distance of 96 miles. He also said he suffered some mechanical challenges in the fourth stage which put paid to his chances of doing better. Michael Anthony and Walter Grant-Stuart also represented Guyana at that race.
When the final leg of the NSC race pedaled off in Linden yesterday, Hinds said that there was a mad rush by riders to gain an early advantage but he was not worried by that.
“I knew I had 1 minute and 20 seconds on the second man so I wasn’t worried. Men kept going all the time but I just sat and waited on the right moment which came at Coverden on the East Bank of Demerara where myself and Garbarran went for it. I kept going and never looked back.”
Hinds will now focus on the upcoming National Championships and other overseas engagements for the remainder of the year.
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