SiS Tour de Lunsar Stage 2 – Photo Gallery
All the action from the second stage of men’s racing at the 2021 SiS Tour de Lunsar from Freetown - Makeni - Lunsar
Images from stage two of the Science in Sport Tour De Lunsar. An incredible days racing with some amazing rider stories. It was a tale of two groups with a breakaway of seven forming early on that included eventual stage winner Ibrahim S Jalloh (Lunsar A) and stage one sensation Abu Sheik Sesay (Lunsar B). The race leader Osman T Kalokoh (Lunsar A) missed this move and therefore would spend a lot of his day trying to bridge the gap and minimise his losses.
Up front the story of the day was being created by Ibrahim S Jalloh (Lunsar A). A rider plagued by bad luck in 2019, fans may remember Ibrahim clutching his bike on the back of a support vehicle after suffering a mechanical in that years Tour de Lunsar. He was looking like the strongest of our riders but was forced to climb off at Port Loko as there are no spare bikes. A story covered by CyclingTips in their account of that day.
He took this moment in his stride though and came back stronger than before. Later that same year Ibrahim would help put Sierra Leone back on the map for all the right reasons when he represented the country at the Tour de Guinea in the first event outside of the country for Sierra Leone’s riders since the Ebola outbreak of 2015. Bad luck affected his day there too. This time it was a crash resulting in a broken wheel but he soldiered on riding on a buckled wheel to finish nineteenth out of forty racers.
Flash forward two years and Ibrahim S Jalloh puts this disappointment behind him and doubtless uses the memories as fuel to win stage two of the 2021 Science in Sport Tour De Lunsar. Not only that but the youngster also won the days KOM at Makoth Village and sprint under the Makeni welcome sign. An incredible journey for an incredible athlete.
After being the most combative rider on stage one, Abu Sheik Sesay (Lunsar B) was rewarded for his efforts to get into the days breakaway with a second place finish. With race leader Osman T Kalokoh (Lunsar A) still chasing valiantly behind it means that Abu Sheik Sesay takes the race lead and yellow Le Col leader’s jersey into the final day of racing. Below is the story of the day as told through photographer Matt Grayson’s quite brilliant images.
All photographs belong to Lunsar Cycling Team, and were shot by Matt Grayson.
The riders embark on stage two of the Science in Sport Tour de Lunsar, a 126km stage which would see the peloton ride from Lunsar to the midpoint at the Makeni clocktower before heading back to the finish in Lunsar.
After his heroics on stage one, Osman T Kalokoh (Lunsar A) started the day resplendent in the Le Col yellow leader’s jersey.
With Sorie Koroma (Lunsar A) and Abu Sheik Sesay (Lunsar B) within touching distance, Kalokoh – seen here taking a sip from a Science in Sport bidon – knew another big ride was needed to keep the jersey.
Ibrahim S Jalloh (Lunsar A) triggers the first attack of the day. Having been plagued with bad luck in 2019 at both the Tour de Lunsar and Tour of Guinea it was time for the youngster to reverse his fortunes.
A group of six bridges the gap to Jalloh making the lead group a cohesive unit of seven riders that most notably includes Sorie Koroma and Abu Sheik Sesay.
The lead group on their way to Makeni with a large presence of Lunsar B riders. The days break consists of Ibrahim S Jalloh and Sorie Koroma (Lunsar A), Abu Sheik Sesay, Mohamed Kargbo, Minkialu M Conteh, Abass B Kargbo (all Lunsar B) and Mustapeh Koroma (Flames Cycling Team).
Race leader Osman T Kalokoh (Lunsar A) missed the move and fights on valiantly to try and reduce the deficit.
The chasers pass through the KOM point at Makoth Village. Ibrahim S Jalloh (Lunsar A) had previously taken the points at the climb.
Osman T Kalokoh (Lunsar A) looks for assistance as he chases the lead group alone.
Having won the KOM at Makoth Village and the sprint at the Makeni welcome sign, Ibrahim S Jalloh (Lunsar A) makes is a hat trick on the day by winning the final sprint on stage two in Lunsar.
A much deserved win, Ibrahim S Jalloh has waited two years for this moment due to the suspension in sporting events last year. He trained on donated rollers and turbo trainers to make sure he would be ready and fit when racing returned.
The joy is clear to see as Ibrahim S Jalloh is celebrated as the days hero.
A moment of contemplation for Ibrahim S Jalloh as he is presented to Lunsar as the stage winner.
Osman T Kalokoh (Lunsar A) makes sure nothing is left out on the road. He loses the jersey, but lives to fight another day.
Ibrahim S Jalloh is hoisted into the air by the Lunsar public and celebrated as the days champion. No doubt the pride we can see on the faces of the supporters is a reflection of Ibrahim’s journey to this point. Champions rise after a fall.
After a brilliant display on stage one, Abu Sheik Sesay (Lunsar B) is rewarded for finishing in the front group by taking the Le Col yellow leader’s jersey. Will he be able to stay in the jersey on stage three and win the overall?
The podium on the day was:
🥇 Ibrahim S Jalloh (Lunsar A)
🥈 Abu Sheik Sesay (Lunsar B)
🥉 Mustapeh Koroma (Flames Cycling Team)