Monese qualifies for Rio

Lucia Phahla

Maseru

Lesotho mountain bike rider Phetetso Monese is on his way to next month’s Rio Olympic Games in Brazil.

Monese is the first ever cyclist from the country to qualify for the sporting showpiece.

And, thanks to the 31-year-old’s historic achievement, Rio will mark the first time Lesotho is represented at the Games in a code other than athletics, boxing, taekwondo or swimming.

Monese’s place at Rio 2016 was confirmed last week by the International Cycling Union (UCI) and his addition takes Lesotho’s tally for Brazil to eight.

The other members of Team Lesotho are track athletes Mosito Lehata, Nomakoe Nkhasi and Tšepang Sello, marathoners Tšepo Mathibelle and Lebenya Nkoka, and boxers Inkululeko Suntele and Moroke Mokhotho.

Monese, who rides for the ACE-The Sufferfest Lesotho MTB Team, is the highest ranked black African rider on the UCI rankings. Speaking to thepost on Monday, ACE manager Mark West lauded the rider’s qualification.

“We are very excited that Phetetso has qualified for the Olympics.  It also proves that we are making progress as a team,” West said.

Monese’s qualification is all the more impressive because he missed out on last year’s African Continental MTB Championships in Rwanda which served as Africa’s main Olympic qualifiers.

Monese, however, clinched a fine third place finish at this year’s African Championships held in April in Lesotho which gave him an outside chance of qualifying for Rio. He has also been helped by Lesotho’s strong ranking in the mountain bike discipline. Lesotho is ranked second in Africa and 41st in the world.

The Rio Games will be Monese’s second appearance at a major sporting event. He placed 21st at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.

Monese is currently in Switzerland with teammate Teboho Khantši competing on the UCI MTB World Cup circuit. The duo left Lesotho last Wednesday.

They raced at a World Cup leg in Lenzerheide last Saturday and will race again next weekend in a cross country event.

West said he wants the riders to treat their time in Switzerland as practice, especially Monese. He said he does not want Monese to exhaust himself ahead of the Olympics.

“The type of race next weekend is very different to the Rio 2016 Games race (which is much shorter), so I want the riders to take it as a training exercise. I do not want Phetetso to become exhausted for Rio,” West said.

West also reflected on the duo’s race in Lenzerheide last Saturday.

“The race was very difficult. There were over 100 top class riders and a difficult course, but they did their best. They started right at the back and had to fight their way through.

“Phetetso finished 92nd and Teboho 96th. The only other African Olympic qualified athlete racing there was Yannick Lincoln from Mauritius and he finished 88th, so that just shows the high standard of the event,” he said.

Monese and Khantši made history last June when they became the first black African team to be invited to the Four Peaks stage race in Austria.

This is their first sojourn into Europe this year.

The riders missed out on World Cup legs in Albstadt, Germany, and La Bresse, France, in May due to financial difficulties.