Alberton High cyclist aims to reach greater heights

Alberton High School’s Matthew Lester recently departed from OR Tambo Airport to his first Junior World Track cycling championships with much excitement.

Sponsor Beyond Wireless Technology funded his trip and greatly assisted in making Matthew’s dream a reality.

They arrived in Israel on August 18 and all the sacrifices, training and preparation were all worthwhile, as they witnessed the most spectacular indoor 250m wooden track.

“We spent four days getting familiar with the track and on August 23 the racing started. My first event on the day was the team sprint with teammates Jordan September from Western Cape and Mike Jervis from Gauteng. On day two, things did not go well. I was relegated for so-called dangerous riding and was eliminated from the event,” said Lester.

On day three was the sprint qualifying, which was the event he had wanted to perform in.

On the day, only 28 riders went through to the sprint heats and he was in 29th position.

“I realised one thing, we have a long way to go in bridging the gap between us and the rest of the cycling world. The lack of high level, regular competition, world-class facilities and support from our sporting are but a few reasons,” explained Lester.

This weekend is the South African Omnium Track Championships at the historical Hector Norris Park and Lester hopes to win the junior title.

“Then for the next three months I will be preparing for the Amashova from Pietermaritzburg to Durban and 94.7 Ride Joburg road races and then Paarl Boxing Day 25-mile track race, the oldest and most prestigious track title to own in SA cycling,” he said.

In February of 2023, Lester is hoping to jet off to Europe to start an international campaign that will allow him to garner the experience needed to improve his performance.

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