Ray Millington ahead of Dwight Holder
Ray Millington, in 1:57:05, won the inaugural COFONA Emancipation 45-mile road race on Sunday, adding to the GBTI 50-miler he won two weeks ago in Corriverton.
Millington outsprinted fellow club mate Neil Reece and rivals Dwight Holder and Juban Crawford of Trojan Cycle Club.
The quartet broke away from the pack of 12 starters after the race had gone 12 miles, losing the peloton in the distance.
The two groups of riders reached to the turnaround point at Bush Lot, Corentyne, about four minutes apart. With the wind assisting them the leaders, they increased the gap, making it almost impossible for the others to catch up.
However, Crawford made a move but the trio reeled him back him soon after. The 18-year-old was never a treat to any of the more seasoned riders. Then, Holder tied but Reece keep him in check and he was forced to abort plans of going out and away.
Reece tried and almost succeeded but encountered problems with his cycle which resulted in the pack catching up with him. In the end the quartet waited on the last 200m of the race to sprint to the finish line. Millington turned out to be the best sprinter with Holder finishing second, ahead of Reece, and the 18-year-old Crawford ending behind.
Syborne Fernandes copped the fifth place after getting away from the pack. He was also the first veteran to cross the finish line. The first junior was Elijah Bijadder.
Ray Millington receives the winning prize from president of COFONA Dr Leonard Lewis
At the presentation ceremony, president of the Council of Friends of New Amsterdam (COFONA) Dr Lenard Lewis said the organisation was delighted to be part on the event which was organised by the Flying Ace Cycle Club (FACC), revealing that the body intends to make it an annual event.
“New Amsterdam should be known as the place where champion cyclists come from both locally and internationally,” Lewis said.
He pointed out that COFONA will be working closely with organisers to achieve this.
Coordinator of the event and coach of FACC Randolph Roberts expressed his gratitude to the organisation, saying that next year’s the event will be bigger.
Meanwhile, co-sponsor Pollyan Shultz, of Polly’s Delight, congratulated all of the participants for a great race. (Andrew Carmichael)
By Guyana Times