Briton John narrowly missed out on his second victory at the 2026 Tour de Guyane after finishing behind Guadeloupe’s Meving Gène in a thrilling conclusion to Stage Seven yesterday.
The Guyanese national road race champion overcame intense back pain to remain with the leaders over the 142.9-kilometre journey from Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni to Sinnamary. He crossed the line alongside Gène, with both riders recording three hours, 19 minutes and 22 seconds.
Gène was awarded the victory, while John claimed second before an enthusiastic crowd in the home town of his club, Vélo Club de Sinnamary. Jonas De Schampheleire of Kings-Belgium secured third, two seconds later.
John had already created one of the tour’s major moments by winning Stage Five. His ability to return to the podium two stages later, despite his back problem, confirmed his position as one of the standout performers during the middle stages of the event.
Carl Jolly led the next group across the finish line, placing fourth at 33 seconds. John De Schutter, Sten Verzijl, Jean-Nicolas De Broeck and Sooi Wuyts received the same time, while Jakob Langmann was ninth at 40 seconds. Luca Harter finished 10th, one minute and 59 seconds behind.
The performance allowed John to make progress in the overall standings. He began Friday in 30th position, 10 minutes and 10 seconds behind yellow jersey holder Tim Arts, but ended the day in 27th at eight minutes and five seconds.
Arts successfully defended the overall lead and held an eight-second advantage over Damien Urcel after seven stages. Nicolas Gauthier remained third at 44 seconds, while Charlie Lacaille and De Broeck completed the top five.
John also moved ahead of Stage Seven winner Gène in the general classification. Gène occupied 28th, eight minutes and 37 seconds behind Arts, while Martinique’s Mathis Risal was 29th at nine minutes and 48 seconds.
Friday’s race came after a punishing two-part programme on Thursday. Stage Six opened with a 100.8-kilometre road race from Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni to Mana, where Belgian Rutger Wouters claimed the victory.
The cyclists later faced an individual time trial from Awala to Yalimapo, which reshaped the general classification and tested the riders ahead of the longer journey into Sinnamary.
Wouters retained the green points jersey and led the combativity standings after Stage Seven. Bouke Gerritsma held the red hot spots jersey, Carl Jolly led the combined classification in orange and Gauthier wore pink as the leading Under-23 cyclist.
Guadeloupe remained at the head of the team competition, while Antoine Grand was named the carrier of the blue combativity jersey.
Stage Seven started with 93 riders. Benjamin Bousquet withdrew from the race, while Tayes Lompeja was classified outside the time limit, leaving 91 cyclists in the overall standings.
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