fotografic: All Africa Games

Sunday 11th of September saw the last day of the cycle races that are part of the Africa Games. The ladies race was scheduled for 8am, and the men at 10. Due to some small delays the ladies started later and as a consequence the race was reduced from 5 laps to 4. The field was quite small with only 12 starters. The race was won by Lynette Burger who nevertheless set a hard pace together with her team-mate Lise Olivier.

Winner of the ladies race, Lynnete Burger with Danilo Correia, FMC president and race organiser

The men's race also started a little late, with a minute of silence in rememberance of Imran Akuji, the Copa Ciclismo organiser and interim FMC president who was killed earlier this year while cycling. With 86 starters, it was quite a large field, and right from the start the tempo was fierce as the South Africans, together with Mauritians on the front pulling hard, causing immediate damage to the back of the peloton. By the second lap the peloton had split into 3 bunches with quite a few stragglers tailing behind. Mozambique's chances were dashed though as Miguel, who while in a breakaway from the lead group flatted halfway through the second lap, and no support vehicle to change his wheel. He had to eventually stop and wait, and two minutes later Gustavo, his team-mate, came along in the second peloton and gave him his wheel and in turn waited by the roadside for the neutral service vehicle to arrive. The rest of the team were stuck in the 3rd bunch, all fighting valiantly to hang on. After two laps the lead group backed off the pace and kept a steady rythmn until around the 8th lap when again a flurry of attacks decimated the field until the 10th lap where they managed to shake off the remaining teams, Algeria, Angola and Rwanda, and made a full lap on their own and finally to the finish line taking all four top spots. As for our boys, once they were lapped by the leading bunch they were eliminated and pulled off the road, cruel fate for cyclists who gave their all and didn't give up. Miguel was the last to go, with just two laps to go. In all only 31 cyclists finished the race, all others being eliminated by the speed of the leading peloton, which averaged 40km/hr. Five countries were completely eliminated; DRC, Gambia, Ghana, Mozambique and Uganda. The following is the top place achieved by country:

South Africa - 1st place
Algeria - 5th place
Mauritius - 6th place
Angola - 8th place
Rwanda - 9th place
Cote d'Ivoire - 10th place
Ethiopia 11th place
Senegal - 14th place
Cameroon - 16th place
Zimbabwe - 19th place
Kenya - 21st place
Nigeria - 31st place

Some notes about the race strategy - In the pre-race briefing I told our Moz team to stick to Nolan Hoffman's coat tails.. Well, actually I might have mentioned his wheel. Easier said than done! As he had worked a lot in the Team time trial, burying himself in the flat part of the race to achieve a high average, I expected the team to work for him in the road race, and the others would primarly launch attacks to weaken the other teams and let him, a sprinter, take the line. Darren Lill powered up the Viaduto climb on almost every lap, decimating the field behind, and along Av. Eduardo Mondlane Jansie and Thomspon did more damage, to ensure that by the final lap it was just the four of them. Had the other teams co-operated more they might have held back the SA team, and considering how many french-speaking teams there were in the top 10, it is strange that this didn't happen. However it is also a testament to the teamwork displayed by the South Africans that they managed to pull off such a crushing victory. Any attempt to reach their level will require much training as well as an acute sense of race tactics and a clearly defined strategy. Unfortunately there was only one tactic discussed with the riders prior to the start - act defensively, stick to jersey 77, and stay out of the wind. No discussion was made if plan A didn't work, and with our disaster in terms of flats with both our leading riders delayed, there simply was no backup plan. The Mozambique team will have to experience many races in the African environment before they can think of becoming competitive.

It is however a testament to our little team, conjured up on the back of a napkin, with limited resouces and time for training, that they did as well as they did. They completed the Individual and Team time trials and did not place last, and we had riders in the two lead bunches who worked together and displayed great team spirit. But to win a race you need legs, intelligence and dose of good luck. We were sorely lacking in the latter with 3 flats in 2 races, all of them critical. However the guys didn't pull out but kept going as hard as they could until they were told to pull off by the race marshal. A bitter pill to swallow after such a tough race. The experience was invaluable, and will be a great building block for future races. Mozambican cycling will also be boosted by the race coverage and the intimate contact with Maputans, as the race snaked it's way through the city (and paralysing much of it on Thursday and Friday! :-( )
We can only hope that future generations of Mozambican cyclists will cast back their memories to when the African Games races were held in their city, and how it was the impulse that brought them to cycling.

Race briefing with mechanics