Argentine wins savannah grind

The South American pedal pusher, however only just, got the better of the local road champion Emile Abraham in a dash for the finish.

Donadio established a new record time of one hour, nine minutes and one second.

Afterwards he said he paced himself perfectly for the final lap. “On the final lap I kept with Abraham until about 100 yards and then I made a sprint to the finish” Donadio said.

Abraham said after the race that he knew Donadio was always going to be a threat in the race.

“I had my eyes on him all day because I knew he is a very good rider but he still got the better of me on the night,” Abraham said.

The Tobago born rider, surprisingly did not bid for any lap prizes at stake choosing instead to focus on winning the race.

“My plan was not to win any of the individual laps because of how fast the race was. So instead I choose to win the race, but Danadio was just too strong at the end,” Abraham, who campaigns in the US said.

He however praised the regional riders for their performance in the Savannah grind which attracted thousands of supporters.

He labelled Donadio as “a very good rider” as he headed north to rejoin his club which is preparing for the United States criterium. Prime Minister Patrick Manning also attended the event and waved the checkered flag to get the event going as enthusiastic fans lined the streets of the Savannah to catch a glimpse of the cyclists.

But after the first lap Italian Roberto Chiapa, who rode impressively last year again proved a big threat by winning the first lap and a $2,000 cash incentive setting a new first-lap record of four minutes and 42 seconds.

Chiapa’s time bettered the previous mark that was set by Abraham the year before, of four minutes and 48 seconds.

The Italian who was also outstanding in the series last year followed up his first-lap victory with other cash incentives.

But it was Donadio who was the shining light as he claimed the “People’s Prime” for $2,700 and the second lap of the race which carried an incentive of $1,000.

Veteran former national cyclists Gene Samuel also stunned supporters with a performance that earned him third position overall and was among the top 15 cyclists who collected prizes for performances.

Murray Carter of Canada won the third lap of the night and secured the $1,000 prize that went with it. Barbados’ Jason Ford was fourth while Warren Mc Kay placed fifth.

Action in the series continues at the Arima Velodrome this weekend, before the cyclists travel to the sister isle of Tobago for competition at Market Square, Scarbor-ough.

Action at the velodrome will be broadcast live on National Carnival Commission (NCC) TV Channel Four.