Times Of Swaziland: CYCLIST SIHAWU KING OF NEDBANK IMVELO MTB CLASSIC

CYCLIST SIHAWU KING OF NEDBANK IMVELO MTB CLASSIC
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Sanele Jele on 04/06/2023 18:28:00


MLILWANE – Seasoned cyclist Sihawu Dlamini is the Nedbank Imvelo MTB Classic
2023 king of the mountain bike challenge.
The race which attracted over 200 cyclists started and finished at Mlilwane
Wildlife Sanctuary in Lobamba. Dlamini’s never-say-die attitude saw him
conquering the 65km with in 3:50:04hours to be the champion. The 4Eva Cycling
Club rider wasted no time as he went ahead from the onset, making his intentions
known early on. However, it was no stroll in the park as strong competitors in
Clubmate Kwanele Jele, MTN Khemani’s Lungelo Mlangeni, another club member
Makepeace Bailey gave him a run for his money. The champion sensed the
competition and it was not long before the gap widened, this was about 40km into
it.
Sihawu peddled to the finish line unchallenged to be crowned the Mountain Bike
champion. “I think my plan worked because I am good in climbs, so I used that
to my advantage and they ran out of steam and when it was time to catch up on
the downhills, I had already opened a huge gap,” Dlamini said. He said he was
happy to win the race and he was looking to defend it. Meanwhile, runner-up,
Mlangeni who clocked 3:54:40hours and blamed it to a slow start. “When I
picked up 20km into the race, Dlamini was already way ahead of me. He is good on
the climbs and I was struggling, I could not keep up with him,” Mlangeni said.
In the 35km, Malik McNamara and Norael Schiller won in the males and ladies
categories respectively. McNamara clocked 1:59:27hours while Schiller finished
in 2:18:15hours. In the 22km Luis Barreiro emerged victorious after clocking
1:01:24hours, while Sierra Du Pont won in the females division after a finish
time of1:18:05hours. The 12.5km saw Mazwide Nxumalo shine in the male category
after finishing the race in 50:33minutes while Britta Pfeiffer won in the ladies
categories after clocking 1:09:36hours.