Malawian Cyclists Pedal to Zanzibar for International Festival
Although the team did not have ample time to prepare and traveled by bus, Chipeta confirmed this will not negatively impact the team's performance.
BLANTYRE, Malawi - A team of nine Malawian cyclists, including two women and seven men, left Malawi on Sunday and arrived in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on Tuesday, ready to compete in the Zanzibar Cycling Tour as part of the Zanzibar International Sports Festival, writes Happy Valirani.
The five-day cycling race featuring men's and women's categories will kick off on Thursday, February 8, 2024 in Zanzibar, where Malawi has been invited to participate in this year's festival. The tournament will conclude on February 12.
"All cyclists have arrived well and in good health regardless of weather. The team was warmly welcomed in Tanzania," said Elton Chipeta, treasurer of the Cycling Federation of Malawi, in an interview with AfricaBrief.
Chipeta said this tournament is very important for Malawi for a number of reasons.
"First, Malawian cyclists will be exposed to professional riders where they will learn a lot of things including taking away fears. Secondly, the race will give us ranking in Africa which will accumulate chances to compete in continental and African championships," said Chipeta.
Although the team did not have ample time to prepare and traveled by bus, Chipeta confirmed this will not negatively impact the team's performance.
"The preparations have not been so good because of the time frame. The invitation came late but still more because our cyclists are frequently training in their respective clubs, it was easy to organize the team for camp," Chipeta said.
The cyclists selected to travel to Tanzania were chosen from Malawi's cycling clubs in Mzuzu, Lilongwe, Zomba and Blantyre.
The Zanzibar International Sports Festival has attracted countries including DR Congo, Rwanda, Malawi and Tanzania.