Govia wants help to offset $60k bill

RECOVERING CYCLIST, Chris Govia, is currently raising funds to help offset a hefty $60,000 bill paid to West Shore Medical Private Hospital following his collarbone surgery on Monday.

Govia is attempting to gather funds with the assistance of Indian gourmet kitchen, Svaada, at One Woodbrook Place. He is also exploring other options to retain the money for rehabilitation since the events which led up to his injury are currently before the TT Cycling Federation’s disciplinary committee.

At the Beacon Cycling on the Avenue, on October 10, the Breakaway representative was involved in a terrible crash which his club claims was due to unsportsmanlike riding from another domestic cyclist. Since the incident, Govia has been unable to return to work and now has another six-week recovery period.

The 40-year old road cyclist is however, unsure if he would ever be able to get back on his bike for both recreational and competitive purposes. Govia is a former National Road Time Trial champion and has not yet included the cost of damage to his bicycle in the sum.

He remains optimistic the fraternity’s disciplinary committee will come to a speedy resolution. The crash was recorded via a Go-Pro camera attached to another competitor’s bicycle. The footage was then uploaded to Facebook and shared multiple times, with scores of outraged citizens claiming the rival's actions were “deliberate”, “unsportsmanlike” and “intentional”.

After careful examination of the footage, Breakaway requested the cycling fraternity conduct an official investigation into this matter and take disciplinary action against the cyclist.

They have also asked for the removal of any titles that were presented to the said cyclist after the race, compensation from the “offending cyclist” for all medical expenses incurred by Govia and reimbursement from the “aggressor” for all damage to equipment incurred as a result of the crash.