Bulawayo cycling race on

Sports Reporter
BULAWAYO cyclists fresh from the annual Tour de Falcon held at the beginning of the month are expected to race at the Flying Eagles Cycling Club competition on Sunday.They will race along Matopos Road in two categories which are 30km for the intermediates with the 72km race for the elite. The races, which are expected to attract at least 30 participants, will be used for rankings.

Chrispen Kazingizi, a member of Flying Eagles Cycling Club organising committee, said the competitions are part of the many races that they are holding in their efforts to revive the sport in the city.

He said everything was set for the race with the 30km competition starting at the entrance of Tshabalala Game Park and they will make a u-turn just after the Matopos Sailing Club.

The elite race will also start at Tshabalala Game Park with the cyclists travelling 36km along the road to Kezi then making a U-turn to finish at the starting point.

“This is an open event which we expect will draw most of our elite riders. The guys have been training hard hoping to break into the national team. They know that they have to do well in local races so that by the time they go for national competitions they are geared up. We use local races for ranking purposes with participants with the most points representing Bulawayo at national competitions.

“On Sunday take off at Tshabalala Game Park is at 7:30AM. Everyone seems to be raring to go as guys have been seen changing their shocks and repairing their bicycles getting ready for the race,” said Kazingizi.

Most of the cyclists who will take part in Sunday’s race participated in the Tour de Falcon.

Harare-based Nkulumo “Nkust” Dube, who was part of Team Zimbabwe at the 2011 Maputo’s All Africa Games and won this year’s edition of the Tour de Falcon, is expected to continue with his sterling performances in the domestic league.

Kazingizi, Lawrence Khumalo, Mark Wilson, Rob Sinclair, Mark Dos Santos, Thokozani Ncube, Knowledge Khuphe, James Freeland and Clive Midlane are some of the elite cyclists expected to compete on Sunday.

Thomas Clasen, Busani Moyo and Mpumelelo Dube, who are some of the city’s top cyclists with a bright future in the sport, will also participate with Delwyn Domingo missing the action as he is in South Africa.