There is great anticipation for this weekend’s 40th Independence Three-Stage cycling road race, staged by the National Sports Commission in partnership with the Guyana Cycling Federation, Powerade and Chin Chan Cycle Store.
And that eagerness can be attributed to the significant prize money on offer for the two-day event, set to start in East Berbice, head to Linden and end in Georgetown.
The overall winner is guaranteed G$150,000, second G$110,000, third G$80,000, fourth G$60,000, fifth G$50,000 and sixth G$35,000.
Winners of the Veterans Under and Over 45 categories will receive G$50,000 each, while the Ladies winner will pocket G$35,000.
The top Junior rider is guaranteed G$60,000, while the leading Juvenile rider will get G$20,000. Each prime prize is worth G$2,000 and 25 will be up for grabs over the two days.
Additionally, each stage winner will get G$10,000.
The first stage on Saturday morning is from Corriverton to New Amsterdam, while stage two will be in the afternoon from Berbice River Bridge to Carifesta Avenue.
The final leg on Sunday morning will take place from Linden to Georgetown.
In 2022, Team Foundation had a dominant ride, finishing 1-2 with Akil Campbell of Trinidad and Tobago copping the title and teammate Jamual John of Guyana taking second.
At the completion of three stages, Campbell had an overall time of seven hours, 18 minutes, 19 seconds, followed by John with seven hours, 22 minutes, 32 seconds.
They were followed by Curtis Dey, Kemuel Moses, Jason Cameron, David Hicks, Deeraj Garbarran, Walter Grant-Stuart, Marcus Keiler and Andre Greene in that order to round off the top 10 finishers.
Grant-Stuart was the overall top Veteran rider, clocking seven hours, 33 minutes, 02 seconds, followed by Robin Persaud in second and Paul Chooweenam third.
In the Junior category, Arjoon Sookhai, the son of Veteran rider Jaikarran Sookhai, was crowned champion with a best overall time of five hours, 58 minutes, 15 seconds, narrowly prevailing over Sherwin Sampson, who was timed at five hours, 58 minutes, 19 seconds.
Dimitri Madansir of Suriname came in third. The Juniors did a shorter distance that the Seniors.
Lindener Clivecia Spencer, competing in his first-ever stage race, was the overall Female champion, having won the opening two legs from Corriverton to New Amsterdam and then Rosignol to Georgetown.
For the final leg, Spencer, a student of the Linden Technical Institute, was the lone starter and the organiser opted against her completing the full course, given it was a foregone conclusion she was the overall winner.
