PEOPLE | RIDERS WE LIKE
KAYAMANDI’S HEROES
Siyabulela Tutu and Zola Ngxakeni’s magical journey is an inspiration to so
many disadvantaged kids going through similar battles. Their passion is real
and their positive attitude infectious.
How are you feeling this year?
ZN: Confi dent, excited. We have great Trek
bikes, good support and we can’t wait for the
Prologue. Last year in the Prologue we did
really well. We are prepared and have put in
the time and the training.
Stage 1. I got a puncture at 90km and we had
to wait for others to pass us to ask for help.
It was actually a side-cut, a snake bite, so we
had to ride a few kilometres then pump, then
ride again and pump again.
ST: This year we will pack bombs, plugs, an
Allen key set, tools, chain breakers and more.
What is your game plan?
ST: We are going to try and get a nice position
for Stage 1. So we will ride our best in the
Prologue. For Stages 2 and 3 we will try and
keep our position and go up.
ZN: We are aiming to fi nish at least top 100,
or even top 90. How did you get into cycling?
ZN: I’d share my friends’ bikes who I rode
around with in the community. One day they
saw the songo.info BMX pump track and told
me: “Zola, you need to come, some kids are
getting bikes for free, maybe you can too.”
I was 12 at the time. I started riding there,
Songo saw me jumping and doing tricks. He
asked my mom to bring me to his place. That’s
how it started. A few years later Christoph
Sauser saw me on a BMX in Coetzenburg and
encouraged me to try downhill.
Any mistakes you made last year that
you’ve learnt from?
ZN: We didn’t pack some of our mechanical
tools and that cost us a lot of positions on Any words of encouragement for this
year’s Epic riders and cyclists in general?
ZN: Work hard, respect others. Help those
around you. Be patient, put the time in.
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t’s a hot Friday in February, and we’re
at the BMT Cycle Store in Stellenbosch
to meet two Cape Epic riders. Not
international superstar athletes, but
local heroes Zola Ngxakeni (21) and
Siyabulela Tutu (27) of neighbouring
informal settlement, Kayamandi. They are
part of the 11-man-strong BMT Fairtree
Bicycle Academy and will be racing as
Team BMT Dimension Data1 in this year’s
Absa Cape Epic, thanks to the fi nancial
backing of Dimension Data and Fairtree.
Siya works at BMT as a bicycle washer
and Zola just came back from his cycling
guide training at Boschendal (sponsored
by the Western Cape government). This
year will be Zola’s second and Siya’s third
Epic, and they’re raring to go. Zola had
only been mountain biking for four months
prior to lining up last year, the fi rst stage
being the longest he’d ever ridden on
a mountain bike. He only did BMX and
downhill prior to that.
Their childhood stories echo that of so
many kids in Kayamandi (and greater SA).
Zola grew up with a single mom and his half
sister. His dad was a drunk and his parents
separated when he was young. Siya was
also raised by a single mom along with
his sisters; his dad died in a car accident
when he was eight. Siya’s mom sadly also
passed away after illness last year. Cycling
has played a massive part in helping these
two talents navigate life and its challenges.
From a young age, they were drafted into
the songo.info Cycling Academy and on
the back of this foundational work the guys
are now under the great mentorship of
Chris Norton, owner of BMT and the BMT
Fairtree Academy.
Zola, as an Epic rookie and being new to
the sport, 2018 was an excellent result.
ZN: Yes, even fi nishing the Cape Epic was a
huge accomplishment. We were 156th in GC,
a great result. It was not easy!