National cyclist Abdul Rahman Abdul Samed won his first race of the year today (September 21, 2021, in a dramatic sprint finish, edging Solomon Tagoe and Saliou Mohammed to victory in the maiden edition of the 2021 Osagyefo Criterium in Accra.

Abdul Samed, 27, won the 119kilometre charity cycling race in a time of 2:45:03seconds while Tagoe and Mohammed finished second behind him in 2:46:04 and 2:46:05 respectively.

In an interview shortly after crossing the finish line, Abdul Samed said he was almost certain of victory ahead of the race because he had worked on the mistakes that saw him finish second in last month's Granfondo Cycling race.

As with every sport, the more you compete, the better you become so after finishing second last month I was in pole position to win this race," Abdul Samed said.

According to him, his strategy of keeping up with the race leaders for 27 laps and making a dash with seven laps to go worked to perfection. He added that his main goal was to win enough championships in Ghana to become a regular fixture on the European cycling calendar.

Prizes Abdul Samed was presented with a GH?6,000 cash prize as well as trophies and souvenirs from the race sponsors.

Clementina Ayong won a GH?2,000 cash prize after emerging the women's champion, winning the 15-lap female race in a time of 1:29:15 while youngster Berlinda Kutsiame emerged as the Best Young Rider.
Race winners Abdul Samed and Ayong

All the cyclists received medals and souvenirs from the sponsors DHL and Lucozade.

A total of 87 cyclists competed in the race which was organised by the Gladiators Cycling Club to mark the birthday of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah.

The race was sponsored by VASintel, Cycle City, Special Ice, PayAll, KAZ FOODS and DREAMOVAL.