Two top athletes scoop historic sponsorship

MBABANE – Two of the country’s top cyclists, Thulani Gule and Fana Mentani have scooped a historic sponsorship contract with the organisers of the LOGICO Swazi Frontier.

The sponsorship will focus on the mountain biking discipline of cycling which is particularly tough on equipment. Emotion Cycling are the distributors of the Volcan brand of bicycles, so the two Swazis will be racing on lightweight Volcan mountain bikes over the coming 12 months.

There will be additional sponsorship in the form of race expenses, bike maintenance, cycling gear, performance incentives and more. The cyclists will also get assistance with their training and race preparation from managers who are looking after some of South Africa’s top pro teams.

Organiser of The Logico Swazi Frontier, Lesley Fitton said the purpose of this 12 month sponsorship is to provide Swaziland’s elite cyclists an opportunity to focus on their training and race preparations without the added burden of the costs associated with competing at high level.

He said they have partnered with a South African based company, which has been impressed by the two cyclists and is happy to come on board and assist.

"Fana and Thulani will be participating in all the local cycling races where they will stand a chance to earn points towards the national series in order to compete for the national champion crown.

"This will also improve their chances of possible selection to represent Swaziland in 2011. They will also participate in The Logico Swazi Frontier three days stage race in October and will be hoping to improve on the fantastic results they achieved last year. We look forward to supporting them over the term of their sponsorship. We hope to be able to extend the sponsorship in future years to promote more elite cyclists and we encourage all Swazis to support the local races." Fitton added.

Meanwhile, the Marketing Manager for Emotion Cycling, Aiden Brown said Africa has produced a lot of cycling heroes. He said among these are several world champions.

"We are proud of our African heroes and we believe Thulani and Fana will be ambassadors for cycling in Swaziland," he said.

Swaziland Cycling Association President, Mandla Simelane applauded the commitment by the organisers of the Logico Swazi Frontier in developing cycling in the country.

Sharing the same sentiments was secretary of the association, Menzi Tsela, who said they firmly believe the two cyclists will benefit greatly from this sponsorship and will continue to be true ambassadors of the sport on and off the bike.

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