Last Copa Ciclismo Race for 2011 - Criterium de Maputo

And so we have come to the end of another Copa Ciclismo. It's been a roller-coaster ride this year, with so many things happening in cycling - some of them good and unfortunately some of them also bad. We lost two old-time cyclists - Imran to a car accident at the start of this year's Copa and more recently Rui, who succumbed to an illness. They were both cornerstones of our Copa Ciclismo and we hope they can be proud of this year's events.

On the upside we had an increace in attendance in this year's copa, with the most races staged in it's history - 23 events, not counting the national events. We had a successful Africa Games, with the first ever National team taking part and laying the groundwork for future successes. The Club attended the first-ever UCI World Cycle Tour event in South Africa, hoping to qualify for next year's final in PMZ. We had a successful prelude to the Tri-Nation's cup in October together with the Luso Africa Cycle Club and the Swaziland Cycling Association, with a circuit race in Maputo on the same course as today's race. The Club and National team riders took part in a very successful Goba Siteki race, where most of the podium spots and trophies were taken by our Club. We've seen an increase in cyclists, as well as some old names come back with a vengenace - Joao Rodrigues - no-one was expecting your second place at today's race! The strongest segment however seems to be the Veterans, and although this club racing may stroke their egos it's time to think about the next generation of cycling, and hence today's event, which was the Maputo Criterium, for men, women AND children. Thanks to the tireless work of the Mozambican Cycling Federation we were able to obtain full road closure from the Maputo City Council, which meant we could stage this event and be confident that the little ones would be able to enjoy themselves without having to worry about cars. We had the continued support of Southern Sun, who put up the prizes for the men and women's podiums. Agua de Montemor made sure we were hydrated after a tough but short race, and with the temperatures climbing steadily, it was a welcome refreshment. Many other sponsors have helped in making this year's Copa a success - Ara Sul, Kioske Digital, CDM, Vodacom, Nova Vida. We hope to count on many more in the future, and Panda Sports have already come on board and will be supplying the winner's jerseys for the 2012 edition.
For the kids the Club members pitched in to get some cycling gear and other prizes for the participants. CDM, via their Grolsch Ambassador Simon Wright had some prizes for some of the more unusual categories that don't generally get mentioned at cycle races, but are just as important as the usual 1-2-3. We need to remember that we do this for fun (especially me, seeing as I haven't seen a podium spot in quite a while :-))

So, here goes the photo essay for today's race. Enjoy.

Impressive - the start line.

Ready...

Steady..

Go!

First neutral lap.. Some of the instructions however were lost in translation. Anyone have a Swedish phrasebook?

Kinha taking the first sprint point. But would he last at this pace..?

What lap is this?!?!

Mathieu taking the second sprint followed by some tough competition

Lars taking the third sprint of the day. Look at the gap!

Make way for the ladies coming through - Liliana taking the fifth lap

Patrick taking the race in his normal understated style

Joao Rodrigues hanging onto second with a desparate Lars pushing right to the line for third. Bruno in his first race showing comes in an incredible 4th place! Watch out for the new blood..

Vicente and Mathieu, 5th and 6th. Look, there's a UFO!

No.. it's just Betinho trying to fly. 7th place

Ooops, my shoelaces are undone. 8th place.

Grichon showing how it's done in style..

..and double hip-replacement Ian, showing how bionic men do it

KIDS RACES - 8 to 13 years old

Um.. wait, these are the ladies. What are they doing here?!?!

KIDS RACES - 4 to 7 years old

Ahem.. what's this Triathlete doing in the kiddy race?!

KIDS RACES - 2 to 3 years old

PRIZE-GIVING

Best-dressed male cyclist with best-dressed female cyclist. Will they still be dressed after all the beers?

And the cyclist with the longest hair prize goes to.... a man! Well done Assane

Messias,the backbone of our race organisation

The cyclist with the most spare parts replaced. Good on you Ian.. we expect to see you at more Copa races in 2012!

Results:
Mens:
1st - Patrick Verissimo - 1:14:32
2nd - Joao Rodrigues - 1 second
3rd - Lars Noren - s.t.

Best sprinter: Lars Noren with 16 points! He's also our oldest cyclist.. Goes to show

Ladies:
1st April Kelley
2nd Joanna Knuepple
3rd Liliana Sultane

Kids 2-3 years old
1st Alex
2nd Mei
3rd Charlotte


Kids 4-7 years old
1st Federico
2nd Riade
3rd Yanick


Kids 8-13 years old
1st Belton
2nd Xiwewa
3rd Mario