Lesotho Sky race postponed to next year

Leemisa Thuseho

THE 10^th edition of the Lesotho Sky race that was set for September 2020 has been postponed by one year due to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

The race was initially scheduled for 21 to 26 September and will now be held on 20 to 25 September 2021.

Lesotho Sky Events announced the postponement of the race in a press statement on Tuesday.

“There has been serious uncertainty in the past few months and we expect that to continue for some time, “the statement reads.

“…It is with a heavy heart that we have decided to postpone the 10^th anniversary edition of the Lesotho Sky by one year.”

Lesotho Sky Events founder Christian Schmidt said while it was unfortunate that they had hoped to celebrate the 10^th anniversary this year, the celebrations would still go-ahead next year.

“We already had plans in the pipeline on how we would celebrate the 10^th anniversary, however, we will still continue with the celebrations next year,” Schmidt told the Lesotho Times on Tuesday.

This is one of the biggest races in the country. Last year we had 70 riders from 11 countries including Kenya, Uganda, Holland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, Germany, South Africa, the United States and Lesotho.

After eight years of failure, Lesotho managed to win a gold medal in the race last year when Phetetso Monese came tops alongside South African teammate, Pieter Korkie. The duo represented the Alliance Insurance Company.

Monese hailed Lesotho Sky Events’ resolution to postpone saying this would give them more time to prepare.

“Since the suspension of sporting activities in March this year, we haven’t done anything to prepare for the race. So, the extension will give us time to prepare,” Monese said.

He said his mission is to defend his title although he was yet to decide whether or not he would partner with Korkie.

“I haven’t decided who will be my partner in the next race. I will have to look at the level of competitiveness of local riders. If there are no suitable partners, I will then have to find a partner elsewhere,” Monese said.