FIERCE
COMPETITION
AHEAD
The seventh running of the Exxaro Special Jersey
competition will once again provide a platform
for young men from historically disadvantaged
communities to chase their dreams. As ever, it will
be a hotly contested race by riders from mountain
bike academies across the country.
hile the young men race for
the Exxaro Special Jersey,
they also contest for the
honour of joining the ranks of William
Mokgopo, Siphosenkosi Madolo and
Phillimon Sebona – all three of whom
stepped up to elite racing. The three,
who have all won the Exxaro Trophy
have used their Absa Cape Epic race
results to propel them into a potential
career in mountain biking.
William Mokgopo, who raced
for Kargo Pro MTB Team at an
elite level, has gone on to study at
the University of Pretoria and has
twice been nominated for honours
at the prestigious Gauteng Sport
Awards. His 2017 Exxaro Special
Jersey victory took him to the
Bakala Academy in Belgium – one
of the foremost sport science
centres in the world. The 2018
winners, Lucky Mlangeni and
Tshepo Tlou, were likewise awarded
with a trip to Bakala. The Bakala
Academy is situated in Belgium’s
cycling heartland, Flanders, and
was founded in conjunction with
the University of Leuven. While
the academy provides for athletes
from a range of sports – including
motocross, football and swimming
– their primary focus is cycling. At
Bakala, Mlangeni and Tlou spent
10 days learning about the latest
developments in sport science,
which could help them take the next
step in their cycling careers. “We
got to experience how the pros live
and train,” Mlangeni said. “I learnt so
much, but the biggest things were
seeing how eating and nutrition can
improve your performance; along with
training better. There is a lot we can do
to improve the way we train, especially
for endurance, so I’m excited to use
what I’ve learnt.”
At 24 and 25 respectively Mlangeni
and Tlou have six and four Absa Cape
Epic race fi nishes to their names. They
have, however, not yet followed their
Exxaro Special Jersey role models up
into the elite ranks. Though perhaps
their moment to attract the attention of
elite team managers will come in 2019?
Lucky Mlangeni and
Tshepo Tlou in 2018
Returning to another Exxaro Special
Jersey success story… Siphosenkosi
Madolo was part of the second team
to win the competition. He and his
Meerendal-songo-Specialized partner,
Azukile Simayile, won the Jersey in
2014. By fi nishing 24th they were also
the highest-ever overall fi nishers in the
history of the Exxaro Special Jersey
in the Absa Cape Epic. Since then
Madolo has represented South Africa
at XCO and marathon world champs,
and he now runs the sport programme
for the songo.info charity that gave
him the opportunity to race mountain
bikes all those years ago.
EPIC/SPORTZPICS
W