19 Sep 2022

Thabiso Mokalake of Team Swift won the national road cycling challenge in Otse on Sunday.

After a tough 140km race, Mokalake claimed his national stripes on a challenging and climb-filled route.

Supported by teammates, Lloyd Molale and Gontse Lethokwe, Mokalake along with Matlhogonolo Botlhole and Jwaneng Cycling Club’s Abeng Malete led a split just before the 30km mark.

The three led the peloton and worked together while Team Swift members remained in the chasing pack, a strategy which was planned for Team Swift to claim a podium finish.

The leading cyclists continued to increase their speed and they clocked an average speed of 39km per hour.

Ascending Polokwe Hill seemed a challenge for Mokalake as he dropped back, but he was able to catch up the leading riders on the downhill.

“When I dropped back, I went with my own pace to avoid hurting my legs and I caught up with the other rider on the downhill,” Mokalake said after his 3:34:08 finish.

He said his strategy was to entice other riders to chase him while his team mates were relaxing.

Botlhole retained his Under 23 championship title registering a third national title with a 3:34:07 overall finish.

“Tactically, I think it was a good race with many climbs. I rode smart, saved energy when I could and I am happy that it paid off in the final sprint,” Botlhole said.

Malete, who was unable to re-claim his title after losing to Lethokwe of Team Swift in the last national championships, said he did not have a support team.

“I do not have a team around me and I had to work alone through the race which is a challenge,” Malete said. The Jwaneng Cycling Club rider finished second with 3:43:50.

However, he said he was hoping for a better performance in the individual time trials.

“Cycling is a team sport, especially road races, and maybe I will get lucky and win the individual time trials,” he said.

Botswana Cycling Association (BCA) holds three national events in a year, road, MTB XCO and individual time trials.

BCA secretary general, Game Mompe, expressed delight at this year’s turnout.

“It was a competitive event with athletes from junior and youth categories showing progressive performance, which gives us confidence that we are heading in the right direction in terms of development,” Mompe said.

Mompe said the Under 23 category was also shaping up with competitive young riders.

He said they would soon be graduating to the elite category.

“The Under 23 champion, Botlhole, displayed impressive performance and he will soon be joining the elite category. He gave a stellar performance throughout the race without being dropped,” Mompe said.

She also commended Mokalake for his impressive win.

“Mokalake has just joined the elite category and he managed to pull a remarkable performance,” Mompe said.

Regarding the MTB, Mompe said they were also impressive with a number of young girls showing interest.

She said they would work with clubs when unpacking their three-year strategy regarding development of cycling sport.

This year’s national road championships had a twist with an MTB 60km fun ride. The fun ride was dominated by Cycle4Life club riders.

Other title winners on the day included Jwaneng Cycling Club’s Nonofo Maswabi, who won the women’s elite category finishing the 90km challenge in 2:42:19 followed by Anouk van der Geest of Tsela Riders with 2:49:57.

The female Under 23 category was won by Tsela Riders athletes Witty Moratwa as the champion and Lebopo Kono came second. ENDS