Last Wednesday a team of top Samoan cyclists took on the rest of the world in the UCI Cycling World Championships in the Australian city of Wollongong on the New South Wales coast and comprised athletes from Samoa and Samoans living abroad.  

The Regional Country Head of ANZ Samoa and the Triathlon Club President, Bernie Poort, confirmed the crossfield talent that was on show when contacted by the Samoa Observer.  

"Wally Collins for some time has been the fastest man on two wheels in Samoa and podium finisher in our very own Tour of Samoa 2019 and captained the men's team," Mr. Poort said. 

"Pearl Harris Blain born in Samoa and schooled and raised in Dunedin New Zealand is a top track cyclist and captained our women’s team."

Local athletes Gideon and Urlin Mulitalo from the village of Vaitele-Uta, Raea Khan (Sydney) and Jordan Afoa (Auckland) made up the rest of the squad

"The U.C.I.and Oceanic Cycling have done a tremendous job in supplying bikes and equipment to help promote cycling across the Pacific nations," Mr. Poort added. 

He said the Federation President Seti Afoa has been working hard to secure the funding to elevate the sport in Samoa, while on the ground he has been training the athletes through the Apia Triathlon and Cycling Club, as a platform for developing both triathlon and cycling in Samoa. 

"Funds donated so far have been used to acquire bikes for everyone’s use in Samoa," added Mr Poort. “Growing up in Australia everybody had a bike as a kid and you just rode everywhere.

"I would ride to school each day, do a paper delivery round, ride to sports training, and ride everywhere with friends. 

"Traffic was also a consideration, but equally you learnt the awareness of cycling with traffic and self preservation including the importance of wearing helmet."

According to Mr. Poort, Samoa is a stunning destination for bike riding together with its minimal traffic and roads in good roads.

"If we improve the roads with consideration given to bikes, the sport and use of bikes to commute will surely grow. Yes, there are some other obstacles such as dogs, chickens and pigs, but they all get use to the bikes overtime."

There are also other benefits of cycling, according to Mr. Poort, and these include health, cost and the significant contribution the environment. 

"We should be looking at bike lanes the same as every other city in the world, especially around Apia," he said. "Samoa was given a wild card to this year's World Championships and asked just 5 weeks ago to put together a 6 person squad to complete in the teams relay race.

"We were racing against the very best cyclists in the world and the opportunity for our athletes to showcase not just their abilities but also represent the country of Samoa.

"For perspective over 300,000 spectators have lined the streets of Wollongong to watch last weeks racing. Over 300 million viewers were expected to be tuning in to watch the world’s best on two wheels. The sport and the event are simply huge." 

Mr Poort then made reference to the race tracking and said it was a three-men ride as a team around a tight, twisting and very hilly 14.1km road course in Wollongong. 

"As soon as the first two male rides cross the finish line, our female riders complete the same 14.1km circuit," he added. 

There was nowhere to hide on the course as spectators lined the entire route while schools were all given the day-off to watch the racing with the TV camera’s lining the course and even a cameraman perched on the back of a motorcycle pursuing the riders. 

"The men started with a blistering pace averaging over 40km per hour for the first 3km led by our youngest male star Gideon Mulitalo," he said.

"Gideon had done his job and pulled off to let Wally Collins and Raea Khan continue to press hard. The boys pushed hard all the way to the finish and released our female squad.

"The girls were seamless and for a team that had really only practiced together in the days leading up to the race, executed flawlessly."

Mr. Poort said our riders struggled but Pearl Harris Bain continue to encourage the team to finish. On the last climb of the day and just 1 kilometer from home, she slowed down and helped one of the sisters over the last climb. 

"It was one of those great sporting moments and to see the team finish together to the support of a 1000’s of spectators and a global commentary team covering the race was a very proud moment for Samoa," he said.

"Well the win for Samoa was just finishing the race and showcasing the talent we have in front of a global audience. The way our team conducted ourselves in front of global media has almost guaranteed a spot in Glasgow in 2023."

"Twelve months riding hard and racing as team and we are almost guaranteed to be the most improved team in 2023.

 "Can we catch the giants of the sport from countries like France, Nederland’s, Switzerland, Denmark and Australia? Probably not but we can generate sponsorship and scholarship opportunities for our very best athletes as well as promote Samoa as a great cycling destination to a world wide audience.

"Cycling tourism market is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world with over USD$1 billion spent annually from cyclist looking for a challenge on their holiday."