17 Jul 2013

Parents have been urged to encourage their children, especially those who are not interested in mainstream sports to do cycling as a sport and career.

Speaking in an interview during the Village Multi-Sectoral Aids Committee bicycle race that was held in Manyana over the President's Day holidays, safe cycling instructor, Jeremiah Kokwane said opportunities were still abound for the youth to create themselves jobs out of cycling.

He said they could train as bicycle mechanics, bicycle event organisors/coordinators or professional cyclists among other things to create employment for themselves and others.

Kokwane said they wanted to grow the sport across the country with the view to have a local brand that Batswana would identify with, but decried that race ready bicycles were often steeply priced.

He was nonetheless impressed by the turn up and the potential the Manyana cyclists had exhibited in the race and urged them to form a cycling club to develop the sport in the village.

“We have seen very competitive guys here but they need to register a club for them to go far with the sport, it’s never too late or too early to start,” he said. Kokwane divulged that he would organise a coaching clinic for Manyana riders in due course in order to give them a bit of a push down the road.

Kokwane also explained that their training plan encouraged school going riders to do cycling only on weekends so they balance school work with sports.

Registration for the race was free and the only requirement was for riders to test for HIV/AIDS according to Robert Mangope, in an attempt to get as many people as possible to test. He said they wanted to form a cycling club in the village.

Notable was Keanole Molefe who beat her competitors who  rode modern  and  seemingly  race ready bikes with an old ‘hamba ‘bicycle to get herself P600 prize money.ENDS