Sierra Leone’s biggest bike race, the Science in Sport Tour de Lunsar returns for 2022. Taking place from 25-27 March, it showcases the best of West African cycling as the racers take on a three-day parcours that centres around the small mining town of Lunsar. A colourful race with a party-like atmosphere at each stage finish, the Tour de Lunsar is a unique event that celebrates everything that is great about passion for bike racing, and the communities that are built along the way. Due to the lack of primary cycling resources within the country, the participants race on donated kit and equipment. Our commitment to supplying the riders of Sierra Leone with the best nutrition for performance extends throughout the year, with regular shipments of energy and recovery products being distributed to all the clubs competing in the Tour de Lunsar. In a country where athletes may have limited access to the nutrition they need to reach their maximum sporting potential, having supplemental nutrition specially formulated to aid performance and recovery makes a big difference. An increasingly international event, the stories told, and images taken by photographer Matt Grayson of the 2021 edition were seen worldwide and came to define the race as a dynamic, fresh interpretation of a sport often seen as stuffy or lacking in diversity. Starting in the country’s capital city Freetown on 25 March, the three-stage parcours has several competitions to encourage exciting racing. As well as crowning the daily stage winner, there are jerseys for the overall leader, intermediate sprints leader, KOM leader and the winners of the women and junior one-day races, held the day before. All the jerseys are supplied by another performance-driven British company, Le Col. The 2022 edition promises to be the biggest yet. “One of the things that makes it the biggest for this year is that we’re planning to put cash money on all the winner’s jerseys,” said CEO and Founder of Tour de Lunsar Abdul Karim Kamara. “This year we’re not only going to put cash prizes on team general classification and stage winner’s prizes, but we’re going to put cash prizes on the overall individual jerseys winners and the leader’s yellow jersey too.” Kamara also emphasises the value of hosting the race. “The Tour de Lunsar is important because it creates the platform and opportunities for young cyclists in Sierra Leone,” Kamara explains. “It is important because it gives Sierra Leone a good name internationally, especially for tourism. The Tour de Lunsar creates job empowerment, business opportunities for locals and a positive feeling in the community.” It is a huge honour for us at Science in Sport to be continuing to support the race and its riders and our connection with these cyclists continues throughout the year. Make sure to follow the Lunsar Cycling team’s Instagram and Twitter account for on-the-ground live reporting and updates from this year’s Tour de Lunsar. Written By Kimberley Bull - Brand Manager Kim joined the SiS team in 2021 and has a long-standing passion for team sports. She started out as a broadcast assistant and match summariser at the BBC and has gone on to work with brands, teams and organisations to engage audiences in the world of sport. Outside of work, Kim is a supporter of digestive health charity, Guts UK, and will take on the London to Paris Bike Ride in July 2022 to raise funds.
