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2026 Tour de Lunsar - Race Report

Often called west Africa’s noisiest bike race, the Tour de Lunsar has gained international recognition as a race like no other. This year, the competition took place over two deafening days – with winners crowned in seven different categories. A true festival of cycling.  

 

Le Col has sponsored the winners’ jerseys for the Tour de Lunsar since 2019. This year, they were co-designed with Sierra Leone-owned brand, AFRICAP Apparel. You can read more about the story behind the designs in our feature. 

 

The women's race

 The women’s race was always going to come down to two riders. Rebecca K Samba of Bo and Mbalu Fofanah from Lunsar. These two have been at the peak of their powers all season, battling one another in warm-up races since the start. 

 

From the outset, the two favourites powered clear of the peloton and it was Samba who was able to open a small lead on Fofanah. She maintained this gap and toward the final laps even began to see it grow. Samba crossed the line with plenty of time to celebrate… a repeat of her day one win here in 2025. She takes the blue Konzeptwerk jersey back to Bo.

 

Meanwhile, behind the leading two, Ramatulai Kuyateh (Lunsar) and Zeinab Bockarie (Flames) were locked in a fight for the third spot on the podium. Ultimately, with help from her teammate Roxanne Hargreaves (Lunsar), Kuyateh was able to beat Bockarie to the line.

the men's race

The men’s race set off at a furious pace with 20 laps and 50 kilometres to cover. By the midpoint about half the peloton had been dropped, leaving 15 riders at the front. With each passing of the line, they eked out yet more advantage on those few remaining stragglers in the chase. 

At three laps to go, a trio chipped off the front and opened a small gap of around 10 seconds. In this group were Amadu Sow (Flames) and Ibrahim A. Turay & Abu Bakarr Koroma (Lunsar). 

With a numerical advantage, the two Lunsar riders were able to out-work Sow, and it was Ibrahim Turay that crossed the line first. Sow took second, with Abu Bakarr (a former winner of the junior category) netting the last spot on the podium. 

Turay was crowned champion for 2026, pulling on the yellow Fundsmith jersey on the podium.

Junior Men's race

Abdul T Sankoh of Flames took the win in the junior men’s category for riders under 19. His reward was the purple youth jersey, co-sponsored by Africap Apparel and Fambul. 

 

Hand Cycle Race

This year saw the inaugural hand-cycle events take place as part of the Lunsar weekend. With athletes from Bo and Freetown competing, it was Memunata Kamara and JB Love who took the victories in the women’s and men’s categories respectively.

Junior Men's Race

Abdul T Sankoh of Flames took the win in the junior men’s category for riders under 19. His reward was the purple youth jersey, co-sponsored by Africap Apparel and Fambul. 

Hand Cycle Race

This year saw the inaugural hand-cycle events take place as part of the Lunsar weekend. With athletes from Bo and Freetown competing, it was Memunata Kamara and JB Love who took the victories in the women’s and men’s categories respectively.

Veteran Race

Also new to the programme was a race for veteran riders, those no longer competing actively in the scene. This race was won by popular hometown favourite, Alfred Sesay, who not only raced, but was also a key member of the volunteer organisation team for the entire racing weekend. He was awarded the orange Wasa Wasa jersey to honour his achievement.

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