THE Nedbank Tour de Great Dyke came to a successful end with the competitive race ending at Mimosa Mine to celebrate the country's oldest platinum group metals miner’s 100 years of existence.
Harare's Bambo's Bikes rider, Amos Sibindi from Waterfalls, stormed into pole position in the men's elite race. He crossed the finishing point at Mimosa Mining Company, averaging 38km/hr at a maximum top speed of 68km/hr.
The 25-year-old broke away from the peloton, chasing down Bulawayo's Andrew Chikwaka and the experienced Rodreck Shumba, condemning them to second and third place finishes, respectively.
Nkulumo “Nkust” Dube, still nursing an injured shoulder, temporarily abandoned the arm sling and warmed down to a commendable fourth-placed finish, while Emmanuel Dzawanda was fifth.
Sibindi was ecstatic with his heroics on the bike.
“Before this race, I had only heard a lot about some of these cycling greats, I was only determined to line up with them and learn. But to have beaten them all is surreal. I'm proud of my efforts,” Sibindi told NewsDay Sport.
“My dream is to make it big in cycling; however, I do not have any form of livelihood that can sustain my abilities and help me push towards that goal. I struggled to meet all the requirements that make a good cyclist, my bike is not the best of bikes, and I would be grateful if I were to get a sponsor who can help alleviate these challenges.”
Minex chairperson Munyaradzi Hwengwere, the brains behind the Nedbank Tour de Great Dyke, paid tribute to the long-serving platinum miner, Mimosa.
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“It's miners within the Great Dyke celebrating the richness of this unique feature in the whole world, but doing so to say we miners value our health, we miners want to promote ourselves to investors domestically and internationally, and we miners care for those who are unfortunate,” he said.
“So we raise money for gifted and underprivileged children, and this year has been fantastic because we are celebrating at a time Mimosa is celebrating its 100 years of existence. The oldest mine in Zimbabwe, the first to define how platinum can be mined, and what a way to end the race for the first time at Mimosa Mining Company. But, we also must give honour to Zimplats, Unki, as well as Sabi Gold Mine, who have come through, just to say the miner in Zimbabwe is a responsible miner.”
Hwengwere added that the Nedbank Tour de Great Dyke was one of the biggest sporting events in Zimbabwe. The organisers are aiming to make it a regional event, he said.
“We need to make it regional. We need to bring in other people, just to see that we have talent, but also to see the beauty and the opportunities of the Great Dyke. And also to see the young, gifted child in Zimbabwe deserves a chance, because Zimbabwe is rich, and we can't have poor people in so much plight,” he said.
“For me, this year has been fantastic, because if you look at the support from councils, from Chegutu, Kadoma, KweKwe, Mberengwa, Shurugwi, Zvishavane, you can see that there's an appreciation in the community that the Great Dyke matters. And for the first time, we have a new winner, and I bet that winner may just become the next big person in Zimbabwe sport.”
Hwengwere gave kudos to Cycling Zimbabwe, represented by their technical delegate, Mernard Chekayi, for standing firm and relaunching the fast and furious competitive race.
“We were always scared about it, because we didn't know how to do it. And we're happy that Cycling Zimbabwe said, 'Let's try it'. And you can see the way it has worked. 104km, at an average of 34 kilometres, it tops with 68 on a bike. That's a human machine.”
