At the end of Sunday’s gruelling 100-mile race to determine the 2021 Senior National Cycling Champion, the expectation was that a winner would immediately be known upon the finish.
However, the Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF) has placed the official results on hold after riders called for a review.
Briton John, Romello Crawford, Paul DeNobrega, Christopher Griffith and Walter Grant-Stuart crossed the finish line in that order, but there is the issue of whether John would have breached race rules by not holding his lane in the frenetic finish.
Third Vice-President of the Guyana Cycling Federation, Enzo Matthews, commenting on the race dispute, stated: “Everyone seems to know the rules and when you are in position of that state, it means we need to send it to the proper authorities which is the UCI.”
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is the world governing body of cycling.
“We have rear camera and we have front camera video of the last 200 meters of this event and we will be sending off this information to the UCI and, depending on their decision, that will be final. At this time, we do not have an official winner,” Matthews further explained.
John, who just last weekend won the Independence Three-Stage Road Race, claimed he raced ‘clean’ in the final moments of a race which he said was a good one.
“Two cyclists are claiming that I cheated, but that is not true. I held my lane in the race; the evidence is right there,” John expressed.
An official decision is expected within 24 hours.
The senior road race started at Banks DIH Main Office in Georgetown, proceed to the Linden/Soesdyke Highway (50 miles up) and return to the point of origin for the finish.
