Guyana opened its campaign at the 2026 Caribbean Junior Road Cycling Championships with a pair of top-seven finishes in the Junior Men’s Individual Time Trial (ITT), as Alexander Leung and Alex Newton delivered strong performances against the region’s leading young cyclists.
Leung led the Guyanese challenge, placing sixth in the 20-kilometre event in 28 minutes, 50.68 seconds, while Newton finished seventh in 29:03.17. Only 12.49 seconds separated the two Guyanese riders in the 12-man field.
The gold medal went to Ryan Thompson of the Cayman Islands, who dominated the event in 26:03.44, averaging 46.052 kilometres per hour. Bermuda’s Jacob Wright claimed silver in 26:44.95, while Barbados’ Jonah Kelly took bronze in 27:05.27.
Leung finished 2:47.24 behind Thompson, while Newton was 2:59.73 off the winning pace. Despite missing the podium, the Guyanese pair placed ahead of several competitors in a field drawn from across the Caribbean.
The result is particularly significant for Leung, who is competing in his final year in the junior category and entered the championships as one of Guyana’s leading medal hopes. Ahead of the competition, officials and supporters had pointed to his form and preparation as reasons for optimism.
Guyana’s junior team also includes Kevin Stephen and Tandeia Noel, who were selected alongside Leung and Newton after their performances in local competition and other major races earlier this year.
The national squad’s preparations included exposure to international-level training. Leung, Noel and Sidwell Sandy participated in a two-week programme at the UCI World Cycling Centre Continental Development Satellite in Couva, Trinidad and Tobago, while coach Brentnol Carmichael completed a UCI Level Two coaching programme.
Guyana’s participation had also been clouded by funding concerns before the championships, with the Guyana Cycling Federation awaiting promised assistance from the Guyana Olympic Association to support the team’s travel to Belize.
The championships are being staged in Belize by the Cycling Federation of Belize under the regional and international cycling authorities. The competition began with the team presentation on Friday before Saturday’s time trials.
Guyana now turns its attention to the Junior Men’s road race, scheduled for Sunday over 93.6 kilometres on the Philip Goldson Highway. The race is expected to provide Leung and Newton with another opportunity to challenge for regional honours, while Stephen and Noel will also look to make their mark in their respective categories.
The ITT results nevertheless give Guyana a solid opening platform. With Leung and Newton separated by less than 13 seconds, the performances indicate that Guyana’s junior programme can compete at a respectable level regionally, even as the team continues to build depth and international experience.
For Leung in particular, Sunday’s road race offers one more opportunity to convert years of junior development into a Caribbean championship medal before he moves beyond the age category.
