Cycling app and indoor training video specialist, The Sufferfest, has announced today its title sponsorship of The Sufferfest African Dream Team, an International Cycling Union (UCI) team based in the small African country of Lesotho. Formally known as the ACE Lesotho MTB Team, The Sufferfest African Dream Team is the first indigenous African team to be licensed as a UCI MTB team and is the first to compete at the World Cup and World Championship level.
With almost half of Lesotho’s 2 million people living in poverty and the team riding shared or borrowed bikes, David McQuillen, founder and CEO of The Sufferfest, felt that he had to help. Working hand in hand with Mark West, Team Manager of The Sufferfest African Dream Team, The Sufferfest is now in its fourth year of sponsorship, aiming to prove that a little help can go a long way. As a release from The Sufferfest points out, ‘This dedicated group of African athletes have shown that they excel not just at their sport, but at shattering expectations.’
“These men and women are the very definition of what it means to overcome adversity,” said McQuillen. “This is exactly what The Sufferfest embodies – suffering to become the best possible versions of ourselves.”
As a testament to the team’s hard work, they are the only African team to meet the requirements necessary to receive UCI mountain bike team status. Recently, the team received their highest ranking yet: first in Africa and 33rd in the world.
“What these women and men have to go through on a day-to-day basis would stop most people,” said Mark West. “Despite it all, they ride. They ride to break the devastating poverty cycle, they ride for their families and their future. We appreciate all the help we get, in particular The Sufferfest, who were one of the first companies to provide sponsorship for our riders.”
The Sufferfest African Dream Team is always looking to aim higher, with its sights set on the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
