By NAN
Dr Kalizibe Caleb, Team Nigeria’s Captain in the 2013 3rd ECOWAS Cycling Tour, on Tuesday said that the team intended to make stage wins their target, to stand a chance of winning.
The tour would take-off from the National Stadium, Lagos on Nov. 13 and terminate in Abidjan, the commercial capital of Cote d’ Ivoire.
The tour would be in four stages: from Lagos-to-Cotonou, Ouidah-to-Lome, Accra-to-Cape Coast and Aboisso-Abidjan covering 450 kilometres.
“We are prepared because we have been in camp in Jos for over two weeks, which prepared us for the windy atmosphere we will be experiencing during the tour.
“And our goal is to have stage wins as best as we can, for it will help to encourages us to get an overall victory,” Caleb told NAN in Lagos. Caleb said that he was not afraid of the opposition, but was also aware of the advantages some of the countries have over Nigeria, especially in the area of exposure.
“I can say I am not afraid of any of the other participating countries; however, some are more exposed in terms of participating in competitions, compared to the Nigerian team.
“Countries like Burkina Faso, Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire have some of their cyclists based in Europe, but we are up to the task,” he said..
About 90 cyclists from across the ECOWAS member-states would be participating in the competition.
Burkina Faso are the defending champions of the tour, having won the competition consecutively in 2009 and 2012.
