sorie koroma

When Sorie Koroma was announced as the 2021 Science in Sport Tour de Lunsar champion at the end of the final stage, it was the realisation of his cycling talents. 

We recently caught up with Sorie to talk about, among other things, the Tour de Lunsar, how he found the sport, his cycling ambitions and his life in Lunsar.

Sorie was deservedly champion thanks to being the most consistent rider in the race and an invaluable teammate in the Lunsar Cycling A squad. On stage one, Sorie followed the big move of the day triggered by Abu Sheik Sesay (Lunsar B), with teammate Osman T Kalokoh, ‘OTK’. He was a luxury domestique that day and helped reel Abu Sheik Sesay back in when he attacked to take the Okra Hill mountains classification and Masiaka sprint points. OTK duly repaid that hard work and won the final sprint. 

This was Lunsar A’s plan all along. As Sorie tells us: “As my teammate (OTK) won the first stage my plan was to protect him, so I was there as the domestique for most of the race and chased any attack by the other riders.”

OTK battled on valiantly behind, but Abu Sheik Sesay who finished second on the day moved into the Le Col yellow jersey with a slender lead over Sorie. 

Thanks to his exploits in the break on the first two stages, Sorie went from domestique to protected rider on stage three, the traditional course from Lunsar to Port Loko and back again.

 “God worked it out and the team was there for me on the final stage,” he says. Thanks to the time gaps of the first two stages the plan for stage three was simple, finish ahead of leader Abu Sheik Sesay. 

Sorie’s favourite moment form the race came in this stage where even his own strength surprised him. “We were riding, and I felt like we were just training compared to the speeds on the first and second stage. Due to that a breakaway again occurred and I don’t even know and I can’t even imagine what brought me into that breakaway, I just found myself up there.”

This is where the consistency of a rider like Sorie Koroma coupled with the new multi-day format of the Science in Sport Tour de Lunsar really paid off. Sorie made sure that he was once again close to the head of the race and did enough to leapfrog Abu Sheik Sesay, with stage three winner Moses L Kamara rounding out the podium.

Cue party scenes in Lunsar and an impromptu water fight. “I felt delighted, and I was very happy at the final classification being announced as the winner of the Tour de Lunsar and taking the yellow jersey home.”

But what goes into being the Science in Sport Tour de Lunsar champion?

After being inspired by what he saw in Lunsar, like so many of our riders, was brought into the sport by our founder Abdul Karim Kamara.

“I got into cycling just after I started at senior secondary school. At that time Karim had a shop and I was a mechanic in the shop. I saw him training with the boys and I thought I should also be part of the sport. I go for training with them, and I became inspired by what they were doing. At that time, I was just 15-16 years old and immediately I started my final senior school exams in 2017. I thought it would fit because at that time I had nothing to do so I became an active cyclist.”

Sorie now trains four times a week and counts cycling among the biggest things in his life. One thing that is immediately obvious when speaking to Sorie is that he always has a good word for our founder and his idol Karim.

“Karim is a very strong man who is working tirelessly to make sure the young people have a smile on their faces and I’m proud of him. When I speak of cycling today in Lunsar, I consider Karim at the top.”

After pulling on the Le Col yellow jersey, the twenty-year-old realised that he was now a huge ambassador of the sport in Sierra Leone, a position he relishes. “That is a key role for me to inspire and not just compete. I have inspired a lot of young cyclists and I will continue to do that.”

Our champion is so keen to showcase the benefits of cycling to fellow Sierra Leoneans that he has even created a Facebook page entitled Cycling Changes Lives. 

It’s this exposure of cyclists like Sorie and the power they have to inspire the next generation that will continue to boost the stature of West African cycling. Another way the Lunsar Cycling Team riders are going from strength to strength is thanks to donations from our supporters and sponsors. 

Science in Sport signed on with the Tour de Lunsar as title sponsors in 2021 and their equipment drops, along with kit donations from everyday cyclists, really helped to make this year’s race as competitive as possible. The supplying of water bottles and energy products was something that Sorie Koroma benefited from in particular.

“For the first time in the history of cycling in Sierra Leone we used gel supplements and bottles donated by Science in Sport. Filling the SIS bottle with enough water, compared to the size of other bottles, would give me up to 60 kilometres of energy.”

Sorie is a self-described cycling fanatic and says that thanks to running a local mechanic shop, his life revolves around bicycles and training. He repairs bikes in the workshop and even sells kids bikes to help get local children started on two wheels. 

But if you are eventually able to pull him away from the bike, he is most likely to be listening to his favourite African music. Chief amongst them is Ghanaian rapper Sarkodie. 

To keep up to date with the Lunsar Cycling Team, make sure to follow the team on Instagram and Twitter. 

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