Team Unimills-Hokoyo duo joins Africa training camp

Simba Jemwa, Sports Correspondent
UNIMILL-Hokoyo’s Cycling Club’s brightest talent Lizwilenkosi Sibanda will be travelling to South Africa for a one-month training camp at the 2022 World Cycling Centre (WCC) Africa Road Championships Training Camp.

The 20-year-old Sibanda is part of riders from 15 other African countries that will take part in the camp which begins in Paarl in the Western Cape on February 1 and ends on March 3.

They will be preparing for the Africa Road Championships, which will be held from March 22- 27 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

The rider’s selection is another feather in the cap for the rapidly growing Unimills-Hokoyo Cycling Club founded by local businessman Davis Muhambi in 2020 as part of his efforts to empower young riders.

Riders at the training camp will be participating in weekly races at the WCC Africa Training Camp in preparation for the Tour de Cap from March 3-6. The coaching will be managed by Jean-Pierre Van Zyl and the World Cycling Centre Africa coaching staff.

According to the official invitation, Sibanda and others will be provided with road bikes upon arrival.

Sibanda said he was excited and would make the most of the training.

“This is by far one of the biggest opportunities I have ever had in cycling and I plan to make the most of it.

It will be very hard because of the quality of riders that will also be in the camp, but I am sure I will be able to hold my own.

Last year was a good year for us as a team and for me as an individual.

Our team principal has made sure that as riders we have everything we need to,” said Sibanda.

Sibanda was a consistent rider, finishing among the top three in races he participated in last season.

He won the Under-23 Volta Bulawayo and finished in the top three at the national championships in Harare.

Muhambi was ecstatic and said he was already working on logistics to ensure his rider’s travel arrangements are smooth.

“We are already working on his travel arrangements because for us as a club, this is a very important development.

This can only add value to Unimills-Hokoyo and we hope that next time we have more riders selected for such camps,” Muhambi said.

“We have already spoken to the authorities about getting him travel documents and we have been promised that he will be able to travel on time.”

— @RealSimbaJemwa