Following his inaugural victory in the National Sports Commission (NSC) 27th annual three-stage cycle road race held over the weekend Alonzo Greaves now has his eyes set on dominating the sport locally.
In an exclusive interview with Stabroek Sport Greaves said that he would be seeking to dominate the sport in much they same way as he did last year.
“Having won the first race in the National Park this year, I told myself that this was the beginning of great things for me, but things did not work out as I would have wanted them to and I found myself on a long losing streak, something I have never experienced before.
“I was not feeling well at all after that race. My fitness level was waning so I went to Trinidad and Tobago where I competed for two months, not only to gain experience, but also with my eyes set on this event. It had eluded me several times, due to mistakes I made when I competed as a juvenile and even a junior cyclist.”
Greaves finally pulled off the biggest win of his career when he won this year’s event in a time of six hours: 59m: 38s from the fast improving Christopher Holder Jr., who won the junior title and defending champion Godfrey Pollydore who ended in fourth position overall despite winning two of the three stages.
Greaves believes that his victory in the inaugural Ministry of Health/National AIDS Secretariat ‘Riding for Life’ five-stage road race held in 2007 helped him to claim his first three-stage title.
“When I looked back at the mistakes I made in previous years and compared it to the way I rode and won the first five-stage event, I told myself that all I need to do is implement the same strategy, which was to stay with the front runners whilst at the same time win a stage or two.
“That was my plan and it worked. In the first stage, even though I did not get amongst the bonus time winners, I still managed to stay with the front runners whilst I won the second one despite suffering from cramps especially close to the finish line which made it difficult for me at times.”
The 20-year-old Greaves now has his eyes set on winning this year’s five-stage event along with other road races around the country.
He also wants to break the three-stage 11-year-old record of six hours: 54m: 54s set by Pollydore and Dwayne Gibbs back in 1998.
“I want to ink my name back into the minds of cyclists and cycling enthusiasts here in Guyana. In so doing, I will be going all out to win this year’s five-stage event whilst at the same time dominate the local cycling stage and I know I can do it,” he said.
When asked who he thinks can give him a run for his money on the local scene, he quickly named Holder, Warren Mc Kay and Darren Allen, even giving his reasons why he chose those three.
“When I look around, not many cyclists have been putting up any sort of opposition on the local scene. No disrespect to the cyclists out there as we all train hard to succeed in the sport, but if I were to pick a few whom I believe would be a stern opponent for me, I would say without hesitation, Warren ‘Forty’ Mc Kay, Christopher Holder and Darren Allen.
“With cyclists of the calibre of Robin Persaud, Leer Nunes, Junior Niles and even Albert Philander just to name a few competing today, I chose those three as it is my gut feeling that they are worthy opponents who along with myself are strong sprinters to a line,” said Greaves.
The new champion will turn his attention to Guadeloupe where he plans to compete sometime next month in the Tour of Guadeloupe before returning home to commence training for the five-stage which will be held in October.
