10/08/2024

"We have a very beautiful track but we're not allowed to train on it" - Nigerian Ese Ukpeseraye hopes to inspire her country to believe in track cycling

Nigerian Ese Ukpeseraye's result in the Olympic Games qualification round for women's Individual Sprint might have not turned many heads, her time of 11.652 over the 200-metre flying lap was more than respectable. Even more so knowing she had only learnt about her partcipation week before the race, without having landed her feet into velodrome for a year and while racing a borrowed bicycle. She hoped her performance would inspire her country to invest a bit in track cycling

"I was very happy because in the flying lap, I've never done an 11 before. I always do 12, sometimes 13," Ukpeseraye told Cyclingnews. "I was even surprised that without preparing for it, I did 11. There are some people who have been preparing for this for the past three years, and they did 11 like me as well. So I was very, very happy, as if I'm the one that won."

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The notice of Nigeria's entry came less than a week before the start of the Paris Olympics, and the Nigerian team hadn't packed any track bikes. In stepped the German team, who had previously helped out Ukpeseraye's team at the 2022 UCI Track World Championships.

"The bike was fantastic," she said. "There are times when they give you a new bike to race, and you will find it difficult because you have not been training with it and are not used to it. But for me, when they gave me the bike, the first day I used the bike, it was like I had been using it. I was very comfortable on it. I really appreciate them a lot, because they noticed that I am in need and they were able to assist me."

Interestingly, Nigeria has a nice wooden velodrome in one of the most expensive sports stadiums in the world. However cyclists are not allowed to train there as it's rented out for religious services and other events for most of the year. "We have a very beautiful track. Our track is the best in Africa, but we don't use it. They don't give us the permission," Ukpeseraye said.