Africa-Press – Angola. The winner of the II edition of the “Pepino’2023” Cycling Tour of Angola, Dário António, stated Saturday, in Caxito (Bengo), that the competitive level of the race was good, but that he expected much more from foreign teams.
The runner, who won the event while maintaining the leadership jersey (yellow) until the end of seven stages, said that, knowing the level of his national opponents, his strategy, from the beginning, was to maintain a timing that would allow him to climb onto the podium. at the end.
Dário António even recognized the competence of Cape Verde and DRC, however, he mentioned that no foreign team remained on the podium in a way that worried the Angolan teams and him in particular.
The champion said he hopes that in the next editions the federation will be able to bring countries from Europe and America with a higher competitive level, highlighting South Africa at the level of the African continent.
Regarding the organization, the runner-up in the previous edition, won by Igor Silva, from Petro de Luanda, said it was good as the federation worked to ensure that difficulties were always overcome.
In turn, Igor Silva, from the Jair Transporte team, from the province of Benguela, regretted not being able to repeat the feat of eight years ago, in which he was the champion.
The cyclist, son of the honoree, eighth in the general classification, recognized that the years are not the same and that the Angolan teams have evolved and with promising young people.
The current national champion and holder of the green jersey, which gives the title of the fastest cyclist of the II Tour of Angola, said that due to the level achieved, national teams can compete with opponents from countries considered to be strong, warning of the necessary investments.
He added that, although the means to practice cycling are expensive, the federation still invested in human capital, and the results are visible.
Today (Sunday), the athletes went cycling, in a recreational race, from Caxito, Bengo province, to the city of Luanda.
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