17 Aug 2026

 The Botswana Cycling Association (BCA) is impressed with young mountain bike (MTB) riders’ development in cycling sport.

Both junior and youth categories riders displayed good form over the weekend at the BCA National MTB championships, and in the process gained valuable experience by racing in tougher terrains of the various race routes.

In the youth female category of 15km distance, Loapi Mmokele, clocking a time of 1:17:12 secured the 2026 BCA MTB championship title with a big winning margin of over 11 minutes and 4 seconds to her club competitor, Hope Mathiba, who secured third place. 

Kyara Kenaope rode the closest to Mmokele as she was a minute and 51 seconds behind her. 

In the junior male category, Simphiwe Potongwane put together a 30km distance standout with an impressive finish of 1:35:16, beating club competitor Thuto Phaladze by a minute and 44 seconds, while Ted Makgetho came third, finishing in 1:42:28.

“The strategy to be the champ was to at least stay with my competitors and then drop them at the technical parts and go full gas after that,” the 15-year-old said,  explaining that his chain falling while going uphill affected his ride resulting in his competitors getting ahead.

“But then I still managed to catch up to my competitors and beat them,” he said.

In the Under-23 female category, Myra Mantle rode to victory with a finish of 1:50:41 over Ryana Kenaope who finished a slow behind in 1:57:18. 

The Under-23 male champion went to Rebaone Khunofu who clocked 2:12:51, in second position was Mabaki Mathumo who finished in 2:30:01 while Carlyn Watson-Ben came third in 2:49:11.

For Watson-Ben, securing a podium was commendable given his focus on road cycling rather than mountain biking.  

He was crowned second in the 2025 MTB Nationals which gave riders a longer but less technical course which Watson-Ben preferred since they suit his strength better, allowing him to maintain higher speeds and stay with the leading group for longer’ compared to this year’s more technical route course which was challenging for him.

BCA president Kagiso Potongwane said he was impressed with the form of the riders. 

“We are happy with the current juniors and youth. We have seen them grow in mountain biking and road cycling and it is pleasing to see that progression and having the same kids competing and winning.” 

However, Potongwane said as an association they still had a lot of work to do and challenges to overcome in terms of preparing them for continental and world championships.

Potongwane said as they reached out to the potential sponsors, they gave them proposals that could benefit both the sponsors and the association.

He said efforts were underway to secure sponsors and support from Botswana National Sports Commission to enhance programmes for young athletes.

Given the decline in sponsorship in terms of MTB, he said there had been discussions on whether to create more camps and competitions instead of just aiting for the nationals. 

The National results, particularly for elite, under-23, and junior categories, are submitted to the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) for rankings, and finishing an event like this, Potongwane said was a milestone as it enabled submission to UCI as well as meet national standards across disciplines.  ENDS