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MOH/MCYS Riding for Life 2
By Calvin Roberts | November 7, 2008 in Sports Greaves maintains supremacy
-repeats last year’s performance to take overall lead
Just as he did in last year’s inaugural event where he lost the first stage but stormed back to take the second, defending champion Alonso Greaves repeated the performance yesterday to take the overall lead in the Ministry of Health (MOH)/Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) organized and sponsored Riding for Life 2’ five stage cycle road race.
Having conceded a lead of 1:06s to the winner of this year’s first stage Robin Persaud, Greaves, in collaboration with Junior Niles, Raymond Newton and Tony Simon, broke away from the peloton a mere three minutes into the race to complete an unchallenged victory from Rosignol to Carifesta Avenue, covering a distance of 63 miles, in a time of 2:32:05.
More importantly to the defending champion was his erasing the time deficit Persaud held over him at the completion of the first stage.
He now has a lead of 11:04s over Persaud which cycling enthusiasts claim is too high a hurdle for Persaud to overcome. From the time the cyclists witnessed the presentation of the stage jersey to Persaud and were sent on their way 150 metres from the Rosignol Stelling, Niles made a surge to the front but was caught by Warren Mc Kay and Geron Williams at the start of D’ Edward Village. But the hard-working Marlon ‘Fishy’ Williams displayed stamina and determination in leading the peloton which included Greaves, Darren Allen, Simon, Trinidadian Kris Padel and Gordon Kennedy among others, to the front pack.
But just as the peloton reached the entrance to the Number Six race course, Greaves, Niles, Newton and Simon made a move to front where they stayed for the duration of the race, holding a lead of five minutes as they went through the villages on the West Bank of Berbice.
Just as they approached Belfield, Greaves made a surge to front but was wheeled in by Newton and company and they stayed together right up to the finish line, where those gathered were expecting a lively finish which never materialised.
Junior cyclist Geron Williams took the fifth position and with it, the lead in the Junior category of the race, which is being organized to sensitize the nation on the deadly disease HIV/AIDS and its Awareness, from Ian ‘Dumb Boy’ Jackson in a time of 2:38:39, or 6:34 after Greaves and company.