Briton John returned to his winning ways on the saddle yesterday.
One day after placing second to Jamual John in the Alanzo Greaves Classic, Briton took his talents back to the National Park and dominated his namesake and other rivals.
In one of the most stellar early season performances of a local cyclist in recent memory, Briton soloed to the spoils of the Beacon Cafe/Kaieteur Attack Racing criterium event staged under the theme ‘Paceline’.
John rode like a man possessed, winning the 35 -lap event by lapping the rest of the starters and setting a new circuit record for a 35-lap race in 1h: 09.24s. It was another praiseworthy outing by the United We Stand standout who has been one of the best riders in the local circuit for the better part of the last three years. John was part of the initial break to set the initial pace of the race at the front of the 29-man peloton yesterday.
After 20 laps of racing, John changed gears and proceeded on a gutsy solo escape as his breakaway mates failed to respond.
In perfect conditions for racing, John kept on throttling in time-trial mode and went on to lap the field which forgot about him as they were preoccupied marking pre-race favourite, Jamual who dominated the field a day earlier.
John eventually soloed in to victory easy as a Sunday morning as the theatrics and the battle for second ensued.
With about 150m from the finish, top veteran, Robin Persaud started the sprint in the bunch and was inches away from placing second but Jamual pipped him on the line in a close photo finish to relegate him to third. Alex Mendes, Marlon Williams and junior rider, Aaron Newton completed the top six rewarding positions.
Persaud (Vets U-50), Newton (Junior), Christian Dudley (Juvenile), Talim Shaw (Vets O-50) and Tandecia Noel (Female) emerged winners of their respective categories during the multi-race fixture yesterday.
The cycling season continues on Saturday at the same venue with the staging of another Alanzo Greaves ‘crit’. The event is set for an 11:00hrs start.
