M80,000 boost for Nedbank cycling series

Seabata Mahao

Nedbank Lesotho has injected M80,000 into the 2023 Nedbank Lesotho Cycling series in a move aimed at uplifting the sport in the country.

The series, which is organised by the Cycling Federation of Lesotho (CFL), consists of three cycling events namely the Nedbank MTB and BMX Cup, Nedbank Classic Road Race, and the Nedbank Lesotho National MTB Championships.

The MTB Cup races, which feature 50 kilometers, 25 kilometers, and five kilometers laps, will take place at Masianokeng Lifestyle Center on June 18 this year.

The Nedbank Classic Road Race, which will have 20 minutes to one-hour race, and three criterium, will take place around Makoanyane Square on July 2 this year.

The Nedbank Lesotho National MTB Championships, which will have 30 kilometers, 20 kilometers, and eight kilometers laps will be held at Maseru Mall on July 17, this year.

Makatile Rammotang from CFL said the three competitions were open for members of the public who are interested to participate in.

“The partnership with Nedbank Lesotho is aimed at achieving goals such as cycling more, driving less, boosting the economy of the country, and attracting more people to engage in sports,” he said.

“We participated in the African MTB Championships where we were ranked position three in Africa. We are always preparing and participating in different championships. We currently have one athlete in France, who is Kabelo Makatile, and another, Tumelo Makae in Switzerland.”

Nkau Matete, the managing director of Nedbank Lesotho, said they were happy to continue their long-term relationship with Lesotho cycling, which was briefly paused in the past.

 Matete said the M80,000 they have injected in this year’s edition of the series will be spread out among the three competitions.

He said each competition will get M20,000 for prizes, while the other M20,000 will be used by the federation for preparations and logistics.

“It has been 20 years supporting cycling competitions in Lesotho, and this year we have decided to have three winter competitions,” Matete said.

The announcement of this year’s Nedbank cycling series was witnessed by the Ministry of Gender, Sports, Youth, Culture and Social Development, Pitso Lesaoana, and representatives of the Lesotho Sports and Recreation Committee (LSRC) and Lesotho National Olympic Committee (LNOC).

In his remarks, Lesaoana commended Nedbank’s efforts in the development of sports in the country.

He said there was still space for more sporting codes to represent Lesotho in the 2024 Olympics Games, and cycling had a good chance of making the cut.