After almost four hours of intense racing under the scorching Georgetown sun, ace rider Briton John earned a coveted spot on the podium when the curtains came down on this year’s Caribbean Elite/Under-23 Cycling Championship which occurred over the weekend.
Racing against the Region’s best riders, Guyana’s top wheelman pedaled to a bronze in the grueling Men’s Elite Road Race on the Heroes Highway.
John’s feat was historic as he joined rarified air, becoming just the fourth local rider to climb the podium steps at the annual Senior Caribbean Championship.
John, 24, finished behind Cory Williams of Belize (gold) and Jesus Cespedes (silver) of the Dominican Republic in a hotly contested sprint finish.
The last Guyanese to medal at the Championship was Tony Simon, who also finished with a bronze in the Road Race in Barbados in 2009.
Prior to that, Marlon ‘Fishy’ Williams won Guyana’s only gold at the prestigious event two decades ago (2004) in St. Lucia while three years earlier in Aruba, Dwayne Gibbs took bronze in the Individual Time Trial.
The top three elite female finishers were Lori Sharpe of Jamaica, Bermuda’s Gabriella Arnold and Berenice Paul of Guadeloupe.
On Saturday, the winners of the Individual Time Trial were Conor White of Bermuda in the Elite Men’s category; Berenice Paul of Guadeloupe in the Elite Women; Christopher Morales of Puerto Rico in the Men’s Under-23; and Daimelyn Quezada of Cuba in the Women’s Under-23.
Guyanese, John and Denise Jeffrey, 57, finished fifth in the Elite Men and Elite Women respectively, while compatriot Aaron Newton did not finish the Men’s Under-23 event.
