Leemisa Thuseho

ROAD cycling rider Teboho Khantši produced a stunning performance on Sunday when he won the Federation of Cycling Lesotho (FCL) tournament in the elite men’s category on Sunday.

Khantši completed the 80km race in 2:07:57 a result which saw him securing the second place in overall standings of the tournament in Mazenod, Maseru. The overall winner was Kabelo Makatile, who is also the junior champion. Makatile recorded 1:21:35 in the 40km race.

The weekend event was Khantši’s first to mark his return to competitive cycling after suffering serious injuries which side lined him for a year.

Khantši has be away from cycling since March 2020 after he suffered multiple leg fractures after being knocked down by a taxi.

He was one of the cyclists who were struck by an unlicensed driver in Katlehong, Maseru during the Matekane Group of Companies (MGC) cycling tour in March last year.

Due to the injuries, he was advised to take a break from competitive cycling and only started light training towards the end of last year.

Khantši told the Lesotho Times this week that he was happy to be back to what he loves the most and was excited to have performed well on his return.

He said he was not putting himself under any pressure to win the race as his main target was to test his readiness for serious competitions.

“I am happy to be back after the accident,” Khantši said.

“I am happy with the results from the Sunday tournament. Even though I have been preparing for this race, I didn’t expect such result because I wasn’t putting myself under any pressure.”

The Sunday event marked the return of road cycling events in Lesotho after a five-year break due to lack of interest from coaches, organisers and athletes.

Khantši, whose main event is road cycling, said he was delighted with the return of the road events and he praying for more races to be organised.

FCL public relations officer, Malefane Morie said although the attendance was poor, they were happy with its success.

“We had a good race although we had few participants. Some riders and coaches reported that some riders failed to make it to the race due to work and school commitments,” Morie said.