Hamilton wins another stage…
Mangroo takes overall Three-stage title
Guyana Chronicle
May 17, 2004
GUYANESE-born Stephen Mangroo claimed the overall title for the National Sports Commission’s (NSC) 22nd Annual Three-stage cycle road race, despite placing second in the second and third stages to Tyrone Hamilton yesterday.
Mangroo registered a time of 7:03:05 hrs, ahead of Hamilton 7:03:10, while there was a tie for third place between Alex Mendes and Raymond Newton, both clocking 7:09.48. Marlon Morrison finished fifth with 7:10:59, Junior Niles in sixth place with 7:12.13.
Hamilton out-sprinted Mangroo to take the third stage on the Homestretch Avenue straight, but the cyclists registered a time of 2:52:00 hrs, while Junior Niles was a distant third in 2:56:01.
Mangroo had won the 75km first stage from Springlands to New Amsterdam on Saturday in 1:40.12 while he picked up a time of 2:31.07 in the 104km second stage that started at Rosignol and ended on Carifesta Avenue.
Mendes claimed four of the six prime prizes while Gerald Fowler and Raymond Newton claimed one apiece.
Hamilton said the weather was not as bad as it was on Saturday and he was pleased with his two stage victories, but was a bit disappointed that he did not win the overall title.
His strategy for the third stage was to stay with Mangroo and not let him out of his sight and hopefully beat him in the sprint, and so he did.
The third stage was not as spectacular as the first two, since it was much harder on the East Bank where a number of bridges are under construction.
Mangroo said winning the race was most important to him. This is his third three-stage participation, having crashed out in the first stage in his first race while he placed third in 2001, and winning this year’s event was a victory for him.
He disclosed that he and Hamilton worked together from start to finish so it was good for him.
“I rode the whole race really strong, from the first stage to the end, because I felt really strong this weekend, so it was really good for me.”
He explained that this race was part of his training for the Tour de Martinique in another two weeks time.
The third and final stage wheeled off after the scheduled 08:00 hrs start due to rain, at Kara Kara, Linden, and featured 28 starters.
Some 63 cyclists had started the first stage, while 40 started the second stage. A distance of over 280km was covered over the two days.
Four Surinamese cyclists participated but they did not finish in the top spot.
At the presentation ceremony at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC) Laurie Lewis congratulated the winners, organisers and all who assisted in making the event a success.
Lewis again said that a Tour de Guyana was in the making.
The winner received $50 000, second-placer $40 000 and third-placers $25 000 to be split between Newton and Mendes. They all received trophies sponsored by Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) who also supplied water for the cyclists throughout the stages for the fourth year in succession.