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CYCLIST SIHAWU KING OF NEDBANK IMVELO MTB CLASSIC

04/06/2023 18:28:00 Sanele Jele

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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.