Rui Ferriera Commemorative Ride - commentary

Rui Ferriera Commemorative Ride

On Sunday 28^th of October 2012, a little over a year since our friend and cyclist Rui Ferreira left us definitively, we held a race in his memory.  The 15 lap 60km main race around the ex-Facim block and including the viaduto climb was a tough circuit offering sprints, climbs and fast descents.  The huge turnout was a testament to the feeling cyclists have for their own, as well as the sign of a growing interest in the sport. No foreign riders joined us so it was all home-grown support which was excellent to see.  A strong contingent of junior cyclists braved the course and managed their 3 laps admirably, with maybe a few friendly pushes up the hill but largely on their own steam and with a real sense of being part of the cycling scene.  The ladies contingent was small but some new faces were there and current ladies champion, Yara Suleimane, won the ladies race and not content with winning (with a flat tyre) then went ahead to do a few more laps with the boys.  The men’s race was a war of attrition as the climbs slowly claimed riders with heavier bikes, fewer miles in the legs and cramps.  Still a healthy contingent stuck it out and finished the race.  At the head of affairs current men’s champion and Copa Ciclismo winner Miguel Duarte continued his domination of the season by pushing the pace at the front to breaking point and dropping all the riders in his group and lapping a few out on the field.  Behind him there was a long duel between Kinha and Patrick, with the former managed a bike-length on the last sprint.  We had a few notable entries… myself.  This was noticeable because I had the flu, and haven’t touched the bike since the last race, the Nationals (where I came in last, but not least!) three weeks ago!  We also had our FMC president Danilo Correia make the start line with seconds to spare.  Many other long-time faces turned up for the race, so it was a real coming together of the cycling community.

The race start was delayed as usual by a healthy 50 minutes, which had the Anglo-Saxon and Boer riders in a conniption, but most riders took the delayed start in their stride.  We are after all in Mozambique and there hasn’t been a single race that we’ve started on time, and that includes the African Games which were organised with UCI assistance and involvement!   So I guess it’s inevitable..  The weather was overcast and cool but no rain, so perfect conditions for racing.  We had a neutral lap which then turned into a flying start, and this caught out a few riders at the back of the pack that were expecting to re-assemble at the start line after the reconnoitre lap.  Not to worry, this wouldn’t have changed race results too much as the domination of our almost pro-rider Miguel was apparent right from the start.  Vicente bravely clung on for many a lap but in the end the viaduto climbs proved stronger.

The finish line vibe was quite positive and race support was excellent with traffic cones blocking off the roads properly, strong transit police presence and motorbikes patrolling the race route, with the FMC racing model serving as template for this race.  Riders were kept watered and there was food and cold drinks for the finishers.  A lastminute change to the race route was rendered necessary by the rain the previous night which had covered the uphill viaduto section in sand, so organisers opted to have the up and down on the same section of road.  This meant a tighter course and in theory more room for error, but once the peloton stretched out this became a non-issue. One minor blemish was the Ambulance which interfered with the race route on the now tighter descent section, but once race organisers were informed they pulled the vehicle from the climb and kept it on the wider flat road.  The ambulance issue continues to crop up and this will need to be addressed at future races, as the logic of having a roving ambulance on such a small circuit does not seem very tenable, and has certainly caused a bit of consternation for riders on corners and fast descents.

Various sponsors pitched in, which is nice to see as cycling has traditionally been strapped for cash.  It is always easy to point fingers and offer criticism of other’s efforts, but I have to say that Abub did an admirable job in getting support for the race and together with FMC assistance staged an altogether successful event.  What this race showed is that a dedicated group of organisers is needed to ensure a good event.  The race organisers tried to balance race interest, especially in view of the one-sided dominance of some riders, and announced some new winners’s categories, such as the last rider and oldest rider, although the latter caused a bit of confusion as Theron was given Ian’s prize!  Together with races starting late, there continues to be an issue with winners at Moz races, but most riders took the errors in a light-hearted manner and no harm done.  The organiser’s managed to organise another prize for Ian, so in the end it worked out.  That a triathlete rider won last place is no surprise, and we hope that Rodrigo starts a more serious training regimen for his athletes.  On a sidenote, it would be great if Copa Ciclismo events could garner this level of support in the future. Up until now they’ve been staged on a shoe-string budget, not even a few thousand meticais.  But that’s a discussion for another time. Let’s focus on Rui’s race.

One thing I haven’t discussed is Rui.  Rui Ferreira was a longstanding member of the Clube de Ciclismo de Moçambique and took part in many of its races and training rides.  Together with Imran Akuji, who also passed away last year, they represent an important history of the club.  An outspoken critic and commentator of cycling, Rui’s acerbic wit would colour any discussion of cycling, tactics, bike style and results.  His earlier years saw him reach the podium a few times and he was a fierce competitor amongst his age-group and even younger riders, where his keen sense of tactics made up for his body’s natural decline.  But time was taking its toll and he would ride fewer and fewer competitive events as his back would cause him troubles.  In his last year with us his back problems, flu and other ailments kept him off his bike more and more, but he still managed to sneak in a few training rides here and there.  I saw him a few weeks before he was due to go back to Portugal, happy to ride his bike, although the discomfort coloured his language somewhat.  I don’t claim to have been a great friend of his, but he was a character of the club, and one not to shy away from a controversial comment.  He’d have made a field day out of the Armstrong Usada scandal most certainly!  Sadly he left us.  Soon after his arrival in Portugal he was in hospital and they weren’t able to treat him in time for what appeared to have been a misdiagnosis of his medical issues while in Mozambique.  I do not claim to know the details, but his death was a surprise and shocked us all.  In one year we lost two long-standing members of our club.  His daughter Irina came to Mozambique after his death bringing some of his ashes, which were then sprinkled into the sea a short distance from where we’d regularly meet for our morning riding sessions.  Believers in the afterlife reckon that Rui and Imran are right now having a heated discussion about Lance.  And hopefully looking on in satisfaction as cycling starts to grow in Mozambique.