By Thompson ABISOLA
Ace Cyclist, Ajibade Quadri, on Saturday returned the time of 1hr 47:39 to emerge winner and got the star prize of N1.7 million at the maiden edition of the CyclingLagos.
The grand finale of the CyclingLagos which took place on the designated routes, was ride off at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.
Quadri, however, stole the show as he rode past his stiff opponent, Samuel Fasima, who eventually came second, while Afis Bakare came third and Eyo Effioh in the fourth Position.
On his conquest of the competition, the gold medalist, Quadri, said that he was elated to have emerged the champion of the competition which he described as tough.
“I am happy to have emerged champion. I never expected it, though I trained hard for it.
“Anybody can be a champion of the competition because we are all trained for it.
“Winning this competition will however afford me the opportunity of sharpening my skills in cycling because it is what I do all the time.
“I am also happy that we have been promised more competition because that is what will make us more relevant. Without competition, our trainings will amount to nothing.
“I will be looking forward to more competitions as I will appeal for more corporate sponsorships, because cycling also make people healthy aside the competitive part of it,’’ he said.
The Chairman, CyclingLagos, Soji Adeleye, said that the competition had come to stay, adding that cyclists would now have something to look up to.
Adeleye said that the competition would not be a one-off event, saying that it had been attracting sponsors who recognised the importance and value of cycling.
“We are happy with the success of the competition which has come to stay. Many have seen the competition as the eye-opener for better competition to come in Lagos State.
“We can only pray that the competition gets better in subsequent competitions as the test run is something of a positive reference.
“What we have today is unprecedented in the history of cycling as the turnout of cyclist beats our imagination. We will strive to maintain the tempo, he said.
