Nkosilathi Sibanda, Sports Reporter
OWNING a bike was every child’s dream in the 1980s and 90s. Then, the sport of cycling was at its prime and having to ride a bike around the neighbourhood would give a youngster that confidence to hit the pedal as if they were in a competition.
This was the time that brought in as many youth into the sport. Previously, cycling was viewed as a pastime in certain communities, especially in high density suburbs. That view carried the belief that cycling was a preserve of the whites. The few blacks that partook in it were either those that had found a leap to a higher economic class or were just forcing themselves on the sport.
But, all the same, cycling had started to spread and it quickly became popular, thanks to television broadcasts of competitions such as the Olympics, All-Africa Games and the numerous world tours.
The exploits of Mark Marabini and his brother Justin, Andy Foggin, Brendon Stirling and Tim Jones helped popularise the sport that they had inherited from the 1960s and 1970s heroes like Wilson Dube, Samson Moyo and Tony dos Santos.
In the western suburbs, mini races around the blocks were common. The mountain bikes, BMXs, fixed gear bikes popularly known as the fixes, and the “Mbombela” brand were the in-thing. Undoubtedly there are cyclists who confess these as youngsters, gave birth to their careers in the sport.
Cycling was once a sport commanding limelight and had its place in the count of the mainstream, for there were many competitions that drew people to follow.
Locally, the Chamber of Mines competitions are heavily credited to have opened doors to as many cyclists’ careers. Municipalities and mining concessions had stadia with cycling tracks and that is where most youngsters, especially from low income communities developed an interest in the sport.
Sponsorship was there and money was made but that has all remained in history now. Cyclists are living off scraps just to pedal for glory. The sport has since been coming up but the athletes are hungry for recognition.
Of the many cyclists in the city and elsewhere, few are sponsored. They do it out of the need to cultivate and showcase talent and for the love of one’s country.
They want nothing more than to be supported, especially financially. They bemoan being sidelined and forgotten. That has to change, they say. One such cyclist who strongly holds that view is Bulawayo based Nkulumo Dube, whose turning to professional cycling is a story to envy.
From humble beginnings, with a rickety bike on his first days, Dube dazzled the local cycling circuit. He has represented the country at international races. There are many like Dube who overcame challenges to make it big in a sport long viewed as elitist.
In their triumph, the story reads the same: “We need sponsorship and recognition.” They have sad tales of how hard it is to survive in the sport. Cycling in Zimbabwe is not for the faint-hearted and slim pocketed, they say.
Dube, who is well known as “Nkust” in the sport, started out in 2011. He just missed an opportunity to race at the World Championships, owing to lack of sponsorship. He would want that not to happen in the future.
“Cycling is expensive. Most of the time we fund ourselves in these races, of which it’s a challenge to athletes. As an athlete you would want to concentrate on training and nothing else,” said Dube, who has won as many local competitions and went on to represent Zimbabwe in continental races.
He begged the media and the corporate world to lend an ear and help expose and support talented cyclists.
“Cycling is not well advertised. There is low media coverage of the sport which tends to portray it as a forgotten discipline.
People start to talk about it when cyclists have won in a major international race. That is what draws back sponsors as no one knows what is happening on the local circuit or what athletes are going through. We appeal for media visibility even in the little competitions we have,” he said.
Even one of the sport’s most respected personalities, Michael Stuhardt, who deals in cycle manufacturing and repairs, agrees that cycling is indeed an expensive sport.
“I do bicycle repairs for a living and I have been in this all my life. I think so far with bicycles, especially with the sport of cycling in Zimbabwe, there is a big challenge because the equipment is expensive. There is lack of sponsorship as far as the corporate world is concerned. If you look at these boys that cycle, they have a lot of talent and some have even left the country because they cannot sustain themselves, the cost of maintaining the bikes. If we look at the fact that there not as many sponsored races in the country, they need races that pay so that they can buy equipment and some components.
These are expensive. If one has made it and now represents the country, they have to supply their own equipment. But, that is hardly doable for most of the cyclists. They don’t have jobs, they don’t have the financial resources. I remember some time back, there were young cyclists who would go and race to Botswana or Namibia just to raise cash to remain in the sport,” he said.
As elite and expensive the sport has turned out to be, Stuhardt said there has to be an intervention from the Ministry of Sport, if the country desired to uplift talented and passionate cyclists.
“I call upon the corporate world, especially the Ministry of Sport to look into the welfare of cyclists as a whole, to motivate cyclists and to grow the sport. In as far as I am concerned, the boys who represent the country like Nkulumo Dube,
Advocate Phiri and others, if you look at their financial backgrounds, they are not able to afford the equipment they are riding on. Some of the equipment is probably from people who want to assist and see them perform better in the sport.
“There has to be a platform to financially sustain these athletes. It is the only way they can survive, they don’t have anything else to do. We have to look at it from a broader perspective and try to get sponsorship for the riders. Picture this, when they get to race outside the country, they carry the country’s flag high and we are proud of that. Sadly, at the background, what motivates them? As a cyclist you would want to do something that people benefit from. Cyclists take the burden of representing the country and that is when everyone get to follow them, yet they were alone in the struggle to get equipment and break records.”
He said if cycling got funding it is going to grow.
“They should just keep up with the sport. I am sure there will come a time when cycling will be fully recognised as a sport and be of benefit like any other sport discipline,” said Stuhardt. — @NkosieLegend