26 May 2014

Team Botswana cycling will be looking to redeem their pride when they face other African riders in the second round of the cycling events.

On Sunday, May 25 both teams were shown a clean pair of cycling pedals with the girls team comprising of Bonno Motlhetlhi, Promise Ntshese and Matshediso Ebudilwe coming in the sixth spot and 10 minutes after eventual winners South Africa.

The men’s team which had Tsitsi Kelaotswe, Boago Tlhobogang, Jordan Klinck and Sethomo Masepe arrived nine minutes and 16 seconds after winners South Africa had touched the finish line. Klinck did not make it to the finish line as he incurred a mechanical fault on the verge of completing the second loop.

Today both the ladies and men’s team will hit the road bikes for the individual time trials before wrapping up their tight schedule with a cross country off road mountain bike race slated for the thick forest of Kgale Hill on Thursday.

The team, which was assembled just two months prior to the African Youth Games, undoubtedly faced a mammoth task in the team trial race which requires exquisite technique to race against the clock and with consistent acceleration from the whole unit. The 31.2km route took riders from the Btv Circle up north to the Airport Junction and over the Taung Flyover until they coiled around the CBD up to the starting point again.

Michelle Benson, Frances Du Toit and Catharine Colyn wrapped up a closely contested tie in the women’s team trial race with an impressive 30 minutes 27 seconds followed by Ebtissam Zayed, Menatalla Essam and Toka Khaled from Egypt with 33:20s while a youthful Nigerian duo of Mercy Ajoka and Sylvia Odom went for bronze just 23 seconds behind Egypt.

South African men’s team capped up a perfect afternoon as Ivan Venter, Stefan De Bod, Cal Bonthuys and Graeme Ockhuys clocked 39 minutes and 21 seconds for the pole position. Hot on their heels was Morocco’s quartet of Ebderrahim Zahiri, El Mehdi Chokri, El Mehdi Laanaya and Mohcine Elkouraji who were just 30 seconds behind. Algeria grabbed the bronze medal. ENDS