Moorosi Tsiane
PUMP track specialist Mosito Mohapi will on Saturday go up against the world’s best cyclists at the Red Bull Pump Track World Championship in Switzerland.
The championship was launched last year by Velosolutions and Red Bull. The two companies have now partnered with the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) for the championship.
The championship now falls under the mountain bike discipline as one of UCI’s eight affiliated disciplines (road, track, mountain bike, BMX Racing, BMX Freestyle, trials, cyclo-cross and indoor).
Pump Track racing adds a fresh face to bike racing. Pump Tracks combine rolling jumps with banked turns and riders using the track features to gain momentum to attack the track as fast as possible. Racing either takes place in a head-to-head battle or a time trial depending on the track.
There were over 25 qualifications held across the globe in New Zealand, India, Chile, France, South Africa and the United States among others; and the long wait to get the world best Pump Track rider is finally over.
Mohapi qualified for the competition in March this year during the Roma Trading Post qualifiers and will be the sole rider representing Lesotho at the finals.
He left the country on Monday and arrived in Switzerland the following day for the competitions that take place at the Swiss Bike Park in Köniz-Oberried.
The boisterous Mohapi told the Lesotho Times this week from Switzerland that he was ready for the challenge.
“I am excited because this is a once in a time opportunity and I am ready for the challenge,” Mohapi said adding: “I think I had good preparations”.
He said he was already anticipating tough competition but said he was confident.
“It is not going to be easy because I will compete against the best athletes from more developed countries who have been in the game for long. It is not going to be a walk in the park although I have an idea of what the competition would be like from my Pretoria experience,” Mohapi said.
