22 Sep 2014

The chairperson of Gaborone Cycling Club (GCC), Mogomotsi Setlhare has commended the sponsors of the annual Pick n Pay Mokolodi Scorpion MTB Challenge for contributing to the growth of the cycling.

He said this on September 21 during the annual event that the race had grown over the past years due to the support they get from sponsors such as Pick n Pay, Retail Group, Travel Wise, KBL and the I-Com among others.

Setlhare said it was good for the sport to have companies contributing to the sport development, adding that the support was enough to make a positive impact in the cycling event. The annual event attracted almost 200 cyclists from different clubs countrywide, which comprised of both the young and the old who participated in different races.

Among these hundreds of cyclist was the youngest 8 year old, Jared Champion who was able to complete his 20km race. “I feel very happy to be the youngest competitor to have finished the race and I will keep practicing maybe in a few years I will be able to try the 55kms race,” Champion said.

However, he said the race was hard but was happy to have finished his first competitive race. The eldest cyclist Dean Wright said that he was excited to be back to his bike after a period of three month.

He said he was excited to have been able to finish the race after he had broken his neck in the past, which ruled him off track. “I started riding when I was 65 years old after experiencing back pains and had to stop after I fell from a tree and broke my neck and the collar bone,” he said.

The Gaborone Cycling Club donated a P10 000 cheque to Mmokolodi Natures Reserve to help in the conservation of the nature. The 50 kilometre race was won Kaelo Tabulani of GCC while Thato Madimabe of the same club came second. The 20 kilometers race was won by Justine Telekelo of Jwaneng Cycling Club. ENDS