08 Jan 2020

The late Apple boss Steve Jobs’ motto that people with passion can change the world, best describes female cyclist Gobona Mantle’s life.

 When growing up in Bobonong Mantle was loved bicycles.

To her, there was no source of play better than cycling, and little did she know that one day her name would make the list of the country’s cycling coaches or even be entrusted with the development of cyclists.

She might not have competed in any international meets nor worn the national colours in representation of the country at some meets, but today Mantle’s name makes rounds in cycling domains, being the brains behind Life Cycle Bicycle Coaching academy, the first of its kind locally.

The academy develops cyclists at grassroot level and promotes cycling, not only as a sport, but a lifestyle of health and exercise for the young ones.

In an interview recently, Mantle revealed that cycling was a form of play and sport being addictive, she continued cycling till the recent years.

Like the saying the more the merrier, she decided to join the Cycle for Life club, and through that she participated in local and external races. She became a regular in cycling meets.

Realising her passion and dedication to the sport, Botswana Cycling Association (BCA) and Olympic Solidarity offered her Level 1 and 2 coaching training at World Cycling Centre in Switzerland in 2018. 

Given her acquired skill, she decided to plough the acquired knowledge back into the society, hence the birth of Life Cycle Bicycle Coaching academy.

A teacher by profession, working with children was not a challenge for Mantle, it all came naturally for her.

 “I am motivated by these children, because it is not just cycling and coaching for me, it is also about my motherly instincts,” quipped Mantle. 

Mantle said she realised her path and purpose in cycling when she trained her own child Myra, who has won several titles.

Presently, she admits 24 young cyclists per term in the academy’s training programme, who are growing into competitive riders.

The Bobonong born Mantle has devoted her Mondays to train students at Maru-a-Pula school, while Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays are reserved for individual riders.

Most of her riders are girls and focus is mountain bike riding.

“We focus more on the girl child as we have realised that unlike their male counterparts, most start late to ride with no skills and are often afraid of falling.”

Therefore, she said starting them young is an opportunity to develop their riding skills and preparing them for cycling clubs, where they would then start competing in races.

Her trainees are under 12s who are not yet ready for club races.

As such, Mantle said her focus was giving them basic riding skills and instilling discipline.

As she gets them ready for club races, Mantle indicated that they would embark on a series of spurs locally and externally.

She said taking her trainees to other countries would motivate them as they would learn from other young cyclists as well as embrace external competitions.

Mantle said her daughter, Myra’s starting to ride in South Africa was a bit of a challenge.

However, eventually she adjusted and did well in most races and even finished first in some races.

She said South Africa had different terrain, which afforded great training opportunity for local riders.

Therefore, exposing young riders to such terrains can be an investment on developing them for competitions.

Parents’ support is very fundamental to cycling sport, and Mantle encourages parents to be involved in the development of their children’s career in cycling.

Providing training at a fee of P1 200 per term, she said would go a long way in yielding effective and efficient results in future, she said. Ends