All Set for Tour de Maseru

NTHAKO MAJORO

MASERU – The Tour de Maseru will be held in Qoaling this Sunday, marking the first time the event is held under the auspices of the Federation of Cycling Lesotho (FCL). According to the FCL Public Relations Officer Malefane Morie, this will be the third edition of the race. Initially, the event was organised by the French ambassador’s office in Lesotho. “Tour de Maseru is not a new race. It was previously held by the French ambassador’s office in Lesotho,” Morie stated in an interview with Public Eye yesterday.

“However, this time, the race is being organised collaboratively by FCL, the Lesotho Red Cross Society (LSRC), and the French ambassador’s office in Maseru.”The Tour de Maseru typically commemorates World Bicycle Day on June 3. This year, FCL celebrated World Bicycle Day with a race in Masianokeng on the outskirts of the capital Maseru. “This was a short course,” Morie explained, referring to the World Bicycle Day event on June 3.

“The Tour de Maseru, however, will be a marathon.” The World Bicycle Day race featured a 16-km course for elite riders and a 7-km course for juniors, while the upcoming Tour de Maseru will feature a 20-km race for elite riders and a 10-km race for juniors. “This year’s Tour de Maseru will also celebrate the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympic Games,” Morie added.

“There was hope that our international rider, Tumelo Makae, would have qualified for the Paris Olympic Games.”

Makae, a Switzerland-based cyclist with the Pumpforpeace Racing Team, was one of Lesotho’s Olympic hopefuls who did not qualify for the Paris Games. The Tour de Maseru is open to both male and female riders in various categories: under-14, under-19, under-23, elite, veterans, and masters.