Eighteen-year-old cyclist Ajay Gopilall recently made his international debut when he took to the saddle with the Guyana flag on his back in the 13th Caribbean Junior Cycling Championships.
From that event, the young man has gained an invaluable wealth of experience that he will look to put into practice once he returns to local competition.
Speaking with this publication following the conclusion of the championships in Bartica over the weekend which also marked the first time Guyana hosted the event, Gopilall earned Guyana its best placing with fourth in the Junior Time Trial. Guyana was represented by Gopilall, Mario Washington, Ralph Seenarine, David Hicks and Jonathan Ramsuchit.
While multiple mishaps plagued his teammates, Gopilall was no exception, battling the flu (influenza) throughout the weekend’s activity.
Nevertheless, the PSL/Trojan rider stated “the experience for me was good even though I had the flu but I still did my best and learnt a lot and gained a lot of experience.”
The young wheelsman, who is the reigning Junior Road Race champion in Guyana, explained that it was heartbreaking to turnout in front of such a large crowd in full support and to come up short because of illness but while he did not receive a podium finish, he has improved on his bike handling, climbing and descent as well as pacing the race.
“Locally the competition is really hot sometimes with some of the guys competing internationally but now that I have witnessed international competition, I see why they do well, because it is a higher level and I want to take my experience back to the local scene.”
In the near future, Gopilall said that he intends to add a few more international meets under his belt which in turn help his career and prepare him for the senior category which he enters next year.
