The quest to crown Ghana's finest cyclist gets underway  in Kumasi on Thursday with 96 cyclists racing for honours in this year's National Cowbell Cycling Championship.

It is a  three-day professional race, which will see riders battling to reclaim the yellow jersey from Ghana’s number one sprinter, Emmanuel Sackey, who will face stiff opposition from Abdul Razak Umar, Anthony Boakye and Isaac Sackey.

A  press statement issued by the Ghana Cycling Federation indicated that  12 clubs with  eight persons from  each club will form a team for the showdown in Kumasi.

The race, according to the  statement, would see the riders clearing a distance from Techiman to Kumasi in the first stage, before making a winding journey from Kumasi to Obuasi in the third stage and back to Kumasi on the final day  on Saturday.

A concert  will climax the last stage of the course  expected to be a frenetic sprint from Nkawkaw to Kumasi where the closing ceremony will take place.

The sponsors of the race, Cowbell Ghana, have offered cash prizes totalling GH¢ 20,000, as well as some of its products, for outstanding cyclists of the race.

GNA