Africa-Press – Cape verde. The president of the Cape Verdean Cycling Federation (FCC), Marques Mendes, wants there to be more recognition for the athletes who fight for the national flag and seeks more partnerships for the team’s participation in international competitions, including the world championship.
Marques Mendes left these considerations to Inforpress when taking stock of the internship that ended on Thursday, the 8th, in Mindelo.
According to the same source, the training, with the participation of 11 selectable athletes and another four on a voluntary basis, made it possible to achieve all the objectives initially proposed.
The first of these objectives was to establish the first face-to-face contact between cyclists from the various islands and the national coach, Ana Rita Vigário, a Portuguese professional who accepted the invitation to lead the Cape Verdean team.
A bet by the FCC, which now intends to achieve other results such as having the athletes recognized by the authorities after the “hard” work of the directors who until now have invested their own money to see the team progress.
All because, according to Marques Mendes, Cape Verdean cyclists have already reached “levels of excellence” that need to be seen with different eyes.
“I believe that one day we will have a return and recognition for cycling to reach new levels”, said the president of the FCC, for whom the new generation of athletes “has everything to impress”.
And it is no wonder that, he assured, they are seeking to fulfill a “very ambitious calendar” this year, which, in addition to national events, “strongly focuses” on internationalization.
Between competitions, he cultivates the ambition of participating in the World Championship of the sport, in September, in which, he assured, he has many possibilities of entering, including directly with the under-23 category, which occupies sixth position in Africa.
As it also occupies the seventh position in the African ranking in the Elite Category, it gives the country the possibility of requesting participation.
Meanwhile, the international calendar does not end here and they aim to have Cape Verdean participation, both in the African championship, in August, and in the “Volta a Angola”, in October.
Trips that require partnerships to carry them out and make it possible for cyclists from Cape Verde to participate, which, according to Marques Mendes, are already “a source of national pride”.
The FCC is also looking for new partners to carry out the national championship, scheduled for the 27th, 28th and 29th of June, on an island yet to be announced.
The training camp held in Mindelo, from April 30 to May 8, had as its main objective to get to know the athletes, assessing them, both physically, anthropometrically, technically and tactically.
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