ELITE local cyclists, Kabelo Makatile and Tšepiso Lerato put up an impressive showing at the Paarl Cycle Tour in Cape Town, South Africa last Sunday where they both appeared among the top 15 finalists.

Makatile appeared 11th out of 400 competitors in the men’s 105km race, while Lerata finished fifth among the 156 female contestants in the 45km event.

The Public Relations Officer of the Federation of Cycling Lesotho (FCL), Malefane Morie said Makatile clocked in the same time (2:35:02) with seven other contenders who crossed the finish line from fourth to 10th position.  

Makatile and the other seven finished a second behind Johann Trotzky in the third position.

Hanro Geldenhuys finished a second ahead of Trotzky, with the winner, Kiya Rogora finishing the race a second before Geldenhuys.

“You can safely say Makatile finished fourth because he registered the same time as the seven competitors who finished the race between fourth and 10th positions, but officially he appeared in 11th position,” said Morie in an interview with Public Eye on Tuesday this week.

He further noted: “Makatile was extremely content with his performance.”

The cyclist led the race for about 50 kilometres before he fell back due to a disruptive wind.

“He ended up dropping back after he was distracted by the wind, otherwise he had a perfect race.”

Morie said, "Lerata also put up an impressive performance in the women’s division.”

He said the FCL initially wanted Lerata to compete in the 70 km section but she ended up participating in the 45km segment.

Makatile and Lerata entered the Paarl Cycle Tour as they are already camping at the World Cycling High-Performance Centre in Cape Town in preparation for the upcoming UCI Road World Cycling Championships scheduled for Rwanda in 2025.  

Morie said the Cape Town camp is held in order to select contestants who will represent the African continent at the World championships.   

He said the Lesotho duo joined the camp later than other cyclists.