Caribbean Junior Road Cycling Championships… Stepping stone for future of Cycling – GCF President & Team Manager

Nov 07, 2017 Sports, https://www.kaieteurnewsonline...sident-team-manager/

By Franklin Wilson in Barbados
In association with Queensway Security Service
and Secure Innovations and Concepts Inc.
President of the Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF) Horace Burrowes and Manager of Team Guyana, Steve Ramshuchit, to the 12th Junior Caribbean Cycling championships which concluded in Barbados on Sunday last are of the collective view that the event has set the stage for the future of the sport in Guyana.
Guyana was represented by five cyclists all making their debuts at this level, three Juniors (Curtis Dey, Briton John, Nigel Duguid Jnr.) and two Juveniles, Jonathan Ramshuchit and David Hicks.
Of the five, John has one year remaining while it is the start of potentially great things to come with Ramshuchit and Hicks still having two more years as Juveniles before graduating to the Junior ranks.
The terrain on which the riders had to compete was very challenging, even senior riders that attended the 2015 Caribbean Championships had difficulty with the said course.
Manager Steve Ramshuchit offered the view that he is somewhat satisfied with the showing of the cyclists: “I think the guys did very well given the level in Guyana, the conditions they train under and the conditions they had to ride under here because the course was not an easy course. We beat climbers, guys that are living on the island we beat them, so all the guys I think did exceptionally well.
In terms of the Junior race John did really good, Dey, exceptionally well, way beyond his training in Guyana. In the Juvenile race, Hicks was probably too heavy for the terrain, if it was a flat terrain he would have probably done better.
Jonathan was the youngest rider here but he did well too, to compete and beat bigger riders than himself.”
The senior Ramshuchit believes that the exposure will work well for the youngsters who will be of a better understanding that competition outside of Guyana is way different where the competition is way greater and they will have to step their level up.
”So for those that will be eligible for next year they have goals to work on and we as administrators need to prepare them for that.”
GCF’s Burrowes in a brief comment said that he was fully supportive of what Manager Ramshuchit said while noting that he was proud of efforts of the team.
”This was a prestigious event which has shown the guys that there is a greater challenge beyond the country. I think for the upcoming season, these very cyclists are going to medal and do us proud. This, their first international exposure would have seen all of them doing well and at the same time we had an opportunity to compare them against the other nations.
Moving forward they will do exceptionally well at other Caribbean competitions. As a federation, we will work with the clubs to ensure that the guys are better prepared to face the challenges at this level.
Burrowes commended the clubs that stepped up to assist with paying the airfare for their riders, Trojan Cycle Club of Berbice as well as United We Stand Cycle Club. He also commended the role of the parents of Unattached cyclist, Nigel Duguid Jnr.
”I think that we need to publicly recognise the efforts of these clubs and parents who have seen the need to ensure that these athletes are given the opportunity to showcase and test their skills against their peers from around the region; on behalf of the GCF, we say thanks.”
Over 40 Junior and Juvenile cyclists including four females from Anguilla, Bermuda, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, St. Lucia, Grenada, Guadeloupe and host Barbados competed over two days in the Time Trials and Road Races organised by the Barbados Cycling Union and held under the auspices of the Caribbean Cycling Federation.
Barbados had stepped in to host at the last moment since the initial host nation; Puerto Rico was devastated by Hurricane.
Team Guyana was expected to arrive back home last evening.