The Oudtshoorn cycling festival, a massive event on the youth’s cycling calendar saw over 2 000 under 19’s cyclists compete from all over the country in a tough three day race held in July this year.
The Nedbank Sports Trust Cycling Development Programme were represented by 20 of their top cyclists in the festival. Their Western Cape squad, selected in Oudtshoorn encountered crit racing on the first day, road cycling and team time trials on day two and finishing off with mountain biking on the third and last day of the event. All the cyclists participating at Oudtshoorn were selected from previous trials held around the West Coast and other regions in the province.
The Nedbank Sports Trust Cycling Development Programme has been funded by Nedbank since 2005 and supplies bikes and supports the training and participation of up to 200 cyclists annually in 10 high schools in the Boland, Cape Metro (predominantly the Cape Flats) and West Coast.
This is where our future cyclists are identified so that we can take them further,’ said Kevin Green, Cycling South Africa’s Vice President, at the Oudtshoorn Youth Cycling Festival that took place from 11 to 13 July. The Nedbank Sports Trust Cycling Development Programme were represented by 20 of their top cyclists.
‘I believe that cycling can become one of the top five match participation codes in South Africa,’ commented Green. ‘We are encouraging all the provinces to have more of these events and I want to encourage the youth to persevere and to keep up the hope that they can achieve the accolades that our professional athletes are achieving.’
The Manager of The Sports Trust Cycling Development Programme, Mike Tippett, said: ‘Not only is this festival a great place for under-19 category cyclists to race competitively and prove themselves, it’s a great team-building and barrier-breaking event where they get to meet with friends from all over.’
Devinique Cleophas, one of the female cyclists from the Nedbank Sports Trust Cycling Development Programme on the West Coast, said: ‘The first day’s competition was really hard. I mean really hard! But it’s nice to have the competition. And you have to be mentally prepared. This was my first time here and I made a lot of friends. I don’t have friends who cycle, so I’m happy about the new friends I made here.’
The President of Western Cape Cycling, Corné Bence, said: ‘For the kids to come here and meet each other, the discipline, the respect for each other, the camaraderie … we can see there is a team-building community here.’
‘This is one of the Nedbank Sports Trust Cycling Development Programme’s core aims,’ explained Tobie Badenhorst, Head of Group Sponsorships and Cause Marketing at Nedbank. ‘It encourages learners to enjoy the sport and meet diverse groups of cyclists from every community. It also encourages them to live healthy lifestyles, do well at school, and, of course, it identifies and nurtures cycling talent.’
Mandela Day, 18 July 2022
In support of the ’67 minutes for Mandela’ initiative, cyclists from the Nedbank Sports Trust Cycling Development Programme also took part in a range of activities in their communities on Mandela Day. These included filling up potholes in Khayelitsha, especially to prevent accidents on the road due to tyre damage to their bikes and even cars .
Around Kuils River, these cyclists fixed bikes and in both Kuils River and Ocean View they also supported a feeding scheme, where they cooked hearty vegetable soup and provided bread rolls. ‘At all the venues there was an incredibly uplifting feeling,’ said Tippett. ‘One of the outcomes of the cycling programme is that the cyclists become socially conscious, caring citizens, which is part of well-being.’
In a letter to one of his own children, Madiba emphasised that ‘sport keeps you healthy, strong and bright’. In his book, Long Walk to Freedom, he wrote that exercise is the key to physical health – but also to peace of mind and a feeling of well-being.
