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BULAWAYO’S top cyclist Nkulumo Dube will on February 21 lead a five-member team to compete in a race in Gaberone, Botswana. The five cyclists — Rob Sinclair, Lungisani Khumalo, Andrew Chikwana, Dube and Nkosi Sibanda are members of the Mutual Racing Club which believes that their members can earn a living through cycling.
Jones Machekera, the founder of Mutual Racing Club, said they have upped their preparations for the Botswana race and are training thrice a week as they hope to cash in from their Gaberone trip.
“Most of the races held in Zimbabwe have no monetary benefits for the guys and that’s why we’ve resolved to compete outside the country so that the guys can earn something for their efforts. The good thing is that the club has a lot of dreamers who see the potential of earning a living from cycling and the Botswana trip will be our first of many that we’re planning. We’ve done research on the times posted at these races and we believe our members are within and can actually win,” said Machekera.
He believes that the corporate world’s support will complement their efforts of turning cycling from a social sport to a professional one.
As part of propping up the sport, Machekera has sourced funds to stage two races that is the WafaWafa which has a cash prize and Mutual competition whose winner at the end of the year will win a racer while the runner-up will go home with a mountain bike.
“After seeing that there’s a need for cyclists to race for prizes instead of just being involved in charity events we saw it proper to have two races which we’ll alternate on monthly basis. Both races are open even to non-members. The WafaWafa will have cash prizes but the Mutual race will see cyclists cycling for points every month and the one with lots of points at the end of the year will take home a bicycle,” Machekera said.
Online Reporter