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Feature
INSPIRATION at the joberg2c
In every stage race you will find inspirational people doing inspirational things, and this year’ s Old Mutual joberg2c was no different! Two particularly inspirational stories that caught the eye in the 900km race from Heidelberg to Scottburgh, were those of the Soweto Quartet, a group of enthusiastic mountain bikers taking on the adventure of a lifetime, and the # RideForGugu team of Letshego Zulu and Hlubi Mboya, riding in memory of Letshego’ s late husband, rally driver Gugu, who passed away tragically on Kilimanjaro last year. – BY ROXANNE MARTIN
THE SOWETO QUARTET
With just two months of training behind them, Master Mosuwe, Calvin Mono, Ace Mashawane and Bheko Mbele stood on the start line of the Old Mutual joberg2c on 21 April, slightly nervous, and still barely able to believe they were there. Busi Msimang, team manager of the four, explains that the whole journey started when she met joberg2c organiser Craig‘ Wappo’ Wapnik.“ I met Wappo via a Facebook friend and we connected and committed to making an annual MTB Race in Soweto,” says Busi.“ In the days that followed he came out to Soweto to ride and help us plan a route. After meeting the Quartet, Wappo was impressed with how they rode and it was here that he suggested getting them involved in his race, and he made it all possible.”
It was actually Wappo himself who came up with the team’ s name, and for the record, it has nothing to do with the guys being musicians. When meeting with the four, Wappo quickly referred to them as the Soweto Quartet, and what started as a joke just stuck. Old Mutual then came on board and organised the four entries needed, RoadCover and Cube bikes also came to the party and helped with riding kit, brand new bikes for all four and their flights back to Johannesburg after the finish! For the four Sowetans it was a dream come true.
WAKE-UP CALL
Arriving on the start line was like arriving to a film premiere filled with celebrities, and the four were in complete awe of how many cyclists would be lining up with them!“ We were overwhelmed by the number of cyclists that showed up at the start,” laughs Bheki.
“ Calvin and Master were stunned, because they were hoping to win the race!” Nevertheless, the four mingled with the field, in spite of their nervous energy as they waited for the start gun, and Ace says,“ We felt very welcome.”
The four started the day ready for the adventure that awaited them, but soon realised that it wasn’ t going to all be smooth sailing.“ The first day was tough because we had to adapt to the terrain, the distance and the climbing,” explains Bheki, and Ace adds that he wasn’ t sure at one point if he was going to make it:“ After the second water point, my legs went numb, but Bheki helped me through the pain by keeping me motivated, and I managed to get myself to the finish line.” With the first day’ s 116km behind them, the four realised what lay ahead, but they were determined to take it day by day as they made their way to the sea.
MOTIVATION FROM WITHIN
All four riders are involved in Soweto Rocks MTB, a legacy project that is working on expanding and formalising mountain biking in Soweto and other townships. As part of this, they are involved in hosting the Cycle2Hike MTB Challenge, and soon a MTB race in Soweto itself will be added, all with the aim to work with clubs in the area to turn passionate cyclists into professionals. The four also work with Boni4Kasi, a NGO that teaches mountain biking not just as a sport, but also as a job creation platform for the youth of Soweto.
Images: Em Gatland & Courtesy Letshego Zulu
44 ISSUE 95 JUNE 2017 / www. modernathlete. co. za