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Lesotho Cycling News

2009 Performance Review

We have just finished our second year of international competition, following inclusion to Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) in 2008.

Despite a very restricted budget and few opportunties to compete, we have managed to secure the following positions: -

Road Race: UCI Africa Tour - position 8/ 15 scoring nations 123 points.

Mountainbike: UCI World - position 46/ 74 scoring nations 273 points.

(3rd African nation behind South Africa & Namibia)

With increased funding and opportunities, we hope to improve once again for 2010.

Queen’s Baton Relay Launch

The highly anticipated Queen’s Baton Relay, as part of the preparations for 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, was launched in London on 29 October 2009.  It is planned to arrive for the Lesotho leg of the relay hosted by Lesotho National Olympic Committee & Commonwealth Games Association on 13 January 2010.

For more details read www.cwgdelhi2010.org

 

Metolong Dam - Highly Recommended Cycling Route

 

The newly constructed access road from Maseru to the site of the Metolong Dam adjacent to Ha Seeiso was built as Advance Infrastructure for the contractors who will be coming next year to start construction on the dam, the water treatment plant and the pipelines to bring water to Maseru, TY, Morija, Roma and Mazenod.  However, it is already providing benefits even before dam construction begins.  The two new bridges over the Phuthiatsana River create safer, and always open, access for people living along the road.

 

For the cycling community the road has provided an extremely scenic, safe and technically challenging cycling route.  Apart from a few ‘home-made’ speed bumps near the start in Leqele, the surface is smooth and ideal for cycling.  The route passes the national monument, Thaba Bosiu and the beautiful Qiloane (Basotho Hat) Mountain, making use of the new bridges en route to the very steep climb up the Khamolane Plateau at Ha Qhali, before descending to the Metolong site.

 

I am sure that this route will provide an enjoyable ride for cycling tourists visiting Lesotho, but on the 03/10/09 it also provided the scene for a hotly contested race amongst local riders.  The race started and finished at Lesotho National Olympic Committee’s OlympAfrica Site in Maseru, turning near the Metolong Dam site, a total of 64km.  The results were as follows:

 

1. Poloko Makara (1:53:56), 2. Taelo Ntsasa (1:53:58), 3. Phethetso Monese (1:57:51)

 

Hot Spot Sprinter: P. Monese    King Of The Mountains: P. Makara

 

Under 18 (54km)

1. Aston Maoeng (1:51:54), 2. Lichaba West (1:53:58), 3. Sechaba Tsiu (1:56:52)

 

The race was proudly sponsored by CDM Inc. - an international engineering firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts (USA) and the Metolong Authority, an arm of the Government of Lesotho set up to implement the Metolong Dam and Water Supply Programme.  CDM also sponsored an earlier race along the same route in September. GOOGLE MAPS

 

35 Bikes + more from LETŠENG DIAMONDS.

 

Lesotho Cycling gratefully acknowledges the generous donation of equipment, to the value of over M90,000.00, from LETŠENG DIAMONDS towards our development programme for the sport of cycling in Lesotho.

 

This list of equipment is as follows: -

 

5 x Raleigh RC2000 Racing Bikes

30 x Raleigh Explorer Mountain bikes

30 x Raleigh Helmets

30 x Raleigh Bike-mounted pumps

5 x Workshop Pumps

2 x Professional Toolkits

 

The official handover of the equipment took place on Tuesday 28th July.

 

This equipment will make a significant difference to the young people who will benefit from it.  We hope that this will be a catalyst for a jump in development and performance.

 

Thank you, LETŠENG DIAMONDS for your support.

 

Photo1.  Photo2.

 

National Championships 2009

 

National Road Championships were held on 27 – 28 June 2009.  MTB Championships were held on 08 August 2009.

 

The results are as follows: -

 

Time Trial – 1st Makhashe RAMOLUNGOA (full results)

Road Race – 1st Makhashe RAMOLUNGOA (full results) photo

Juniors – 1st Lichaba WEST (full results) photo

MTB – 1st  Poloko MAKARA (full results)

 

 

Poloko laps the lot

Poloko Makara from Thoteng, Sekamaneng, has taught the rest of local cyclists a lesson in the value of a proper training programme.  On Workers Day, 1st May, he overlapped the entire field of riders in the 45km MTB race held at ‘Mopapa’ Grounds. (photos)

 

Poloko has recently returned from an intensive training camp hosted by UCI in Potchefstroom, South Africa, where he has received expert coaching from former SA World Championship medallist J-P van Zyl and UCI MTB coach Boris Campos Salas from Chile.

 

Poloko has shown the great potential that Lesotho has in the sport of cycling, escalating from an average rider to one of the rising stars of African cycling.

 

The objective of the race was to reinforce Lesotho Cycling’s determination to expand cycling in Lesotho to include different cycling disciplines and develop new exciting talent.  The u16 and u10 races held characterized our determination.  The u16 race was won by Lichaba West, 14 and the u10 was won by ‘Maregina Mpopo.

 

Clothes From UCI

The recent race on Worker’s Day gave Lesotho Cycling an opportunity to hand on some cycling clothes for development riders from UCI African Centre Directors, J-P and Theresia van Zyl. (photos)

 

Workers’ Day Race (01 May) 2009

In response to the business of our recent AGM, the Executive Committee is

wasting no time in organising local events for our cyclists.

We are taking the opportunity of the Workers’ Day public holiday to stage a MTB race at ‘Mopapa’ Grounds, Maseru.

The main race will be a 10 x 5km circuit.

Registration starts at 08:00.