Michael Anthony wins Hand-in-Hand 35-lap cycle race

By Avenash Ramzan

Michael Anthony timed the sprint to perfection to pull off a close win in the feature 35-lap School Boys and Invitational race when the 14^th Hand-in-Hand Mutual Fire and Life Insurance Companies’ 11-race programme was staged in the National Park.

Battling sweltering heat and a determined field of riders on Saturday, Anthony of Linden kept a presence in the peloton throughout the gruelling race, and emerged a front-runner for the title as the laps started to tick away.

With a lap to go, it was anyone’s race with Anthony, last year’s winner Geron Williams, Rastaff O’Selmo and Alonzo Ambrose all bunched together. It remained that way until the dying seconds when Anthony brought his sprinting might to the fore, zipping past O’Selmo to win in a time of one hour, 19 minutes, 14.36 seconds.

Williams took third, followed by Ambrose, Junior Niles and Alex Mendes in that order. Niles pocketed four of the eight prime prizes, while Anthony, O’Selmo, Williams and Adelia Hodge won one each.

Other results:

Veterans Under-50: 1^st– Jude Bentley; 2^nd– Jaikarran Sukhai; 3^rd– Pastor Nigel London

Veterans Over-50: 1^st– Linden Blackman; 2^nd– Kennard Lovell; 3^rd– Shameer Baksh

Mountain Bikes: 1^st– Ozia McUally; 2^nd– Jamal Cappel

BMX 6-9: 1^st– Leonard Jackman; 2^nd– Javin Henry; 3^rd– Jessica Mohabir

Juveniles: 1^st– Adelia Hodge; 2^nd– Briton John; 3^rd– Emmanuel Gayral

BMX 9-12: 1^st– Shekel Dow (only competitor)

BMX 12-14: 1^st– Sherwin Sampson; 2^nd– Shekel Dow; 3^rd– Zab James

Wheelchair: Uttamkumar Isurdeen (only competitor)

At the presentation ceremony, Hand-in-Hand Mutual Fire and Life Insurance Companies’ Marketing Coordinator Shafeena Juman and Business Development Personnel Shannon Yan assisted with the distribution of prizes.

Speaking on behalf of the company, Juman expressed delight at the event being well-run by organiser Hassan Mohamed and his team. She congratulated the winners and wished the others well in their pursuit of success.

Juman added that Hand-in-Hand Mutual Fire and Life Insurance Companies has always been an avid of supporter of cycling and sports in general, and that will continue, as the company is cognisant of it corporate/social responsibility.

Mohamed thanked the insurance company for once again providing a pathway for local cyclists to showcase their skills. He also highlighted the impact the entity is making in developing new talents, by providing three new BMX bicycles every year.