Created by Mark West
© Lesotho Cycling 2011
Links
Active Viewers
Hit Counter
UCI Team in Lesotho shocks locals
29/03/2010
Local riders were shocked by the entry of the Union Cycliste International (UCI) African training camp cyclists in last weekend’s spectacular “I Love Lesotho” Cycle Race. Altogether 9 African nations were represented in the 104km cycling race in Lesotho from Maputsoe to Mapoteng via Hlotse and Teyateyaneng, but in the end it was local hero, Poloko Makara, who came out on top.
Poloko, from Maseru Lesotho, has been training with top cyclists at the UCI African
Cycling Centre in Potchefstroom, RSA for the past two months and was riding jointly
for the UCI team and local sponsor Letšeng Diamonds. In ‘Potch’ they have been put
through a rigorous training programme and top-
According to Poloko, his main aim was to silence his critics and show them that he
is still the best cyclists in Lesotho. “I went hard right from the start, but I
could see that they (other Lesotho riders) were just looking at me. Four of my team-
The five UCI riders representing Lesotho, Libya and Kenya worked in co-
Poloko’s average speed for the very hilly route was an impressive 36.3km/h and this high speed of the race left many cyclists struggling. In the end only 8 of the 17 starters were able to finish the course.
In the shorter race of the day, 45km on mountain bikes (mtb), the result was very similar with UCI riders Victor Krohne (Namibia), Hugo Caetane (Mauritius) and Emmanuel Longo (Zambia) scooping the top three spots, which must have made accompanying team director, Mrs. Theresia van Zyl and coach Chris very proud.
This impressive race, the first of it’s kind in the northern part of Lesotho, was
organised by Mr. Jan-
Official Results
Click any photo for enlargement
