IT was a parade of corporate partners and cyclists as the city of Lagos witnessed the Cycling Lagos Mini Tour on August 10, in readiness for the highly anticipated international cycling event scheduled for August 25.

The Tour, which took off from Victoria Island, and terminated at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, went through Falomo Bridge, Awolowo Road, Tafawa Balewa Square, Broad Street, Eko Bridge and Western Avenue, Lagos.

In an interview after the Tour, Soji Adeleye, chairman, Cycling Lagos, described the Cycling Lagos Mini Tour as a rehearsal that was organized to demonstrate the readiness of the partners, organizers and cyclists for the grand finale of the Cycling event.

“The Cycling Lagos Mini Tour is our simple way of informing Lagosians about our readiness to stage the August event. The tour is a dress rehearsal ahead of the grand finale of the event that promises to be the biggest cycling competition in Africa.

At the initial plan, we hope to have about 1,000 cyclists, but now, we have passed that mark. This is a great plus for us to see the great number of cyclists registered. We are also expecting cyclists from across Africa, from Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania and other African countries. It is going to be a great event,” he said.

Kweku Tandoh, chairman, Lagos State Sports Commission, LSSC,  said the commission had given a full endorsement to the much anticipated Cycling Lagos expected to ride off on August 25.

“We are glad to be part of this great initiative, cycling is one of the sports that have great benefits. Aside from the competitive side, it also has a health support.

“Cycling is one of the events that have prospects in all structures, but it is a sport that cannot be handled alone by the government. The private sector participation is also key.

“What the state government will do in all these is to provide support, cycling requires a lot of funding for equipment and that is where the private sector comes in,’he said.

The Cycling Lagos 2018 is supported by the Lagos Government, Lagos State Cycling Association, Eko Hotels & Suites, DStv, SuperSport, Leadway Assurance Company, Addefort Limited, WorldStage Group, Cool FM, Wazobia FM, Nigeria Info and JAC Motors.

– Aug. 13, 2018 @ 17:59 GMT |