The Gaborone Cycling Club (GCC) calendar of events kicks off this coming Sunday with the club hosting the Wharic Cycling Challenge.
The annual race will be hosted along the Boatle Road and will be made of two races, the 108 km race and the 54 km race.
Speaking in an interview, GCC chairman, Peter Sekwale, said the race will mark the beginning of what is expected to be a very exciting year for the GCC.
“Save for the two months where we have no races scheduled, we have a full racing calendar this year,” the GCC chairman said. “As the GCC, we will have our annual races and should there be any sponsors coming on board, we may consider adding a few more races in the months where we have none scheduled. Apart from the GCC races, we have the Botswana Cycling Association (BCA) races which are also scheduled for this year,” Sekwale explained.
The only race that will not feature this year is the Valentine Laps, which was held during the Valentine’s weekend as the company that sponsored it has pulled out. Apart from the local races, Sekwale said as has been a norm in the past few years, a lot of local riders will be expected to take part in the South African races, more especially the Cape Argus, Cape Epic MTB and Joberg2c biking challenges. He said finances allowing, the GCC will be sending its development riders to compete at the races to give them international exposure. Also in the calendar will be the GCC Annual General Meeting (AGM) sometimes in April to elect a new committee to lead the club.
Meanwhile, the GCC Chairman said he expects a decent turnover of cyclist for this weekend’s year opening race. With the registration still ongoing until tomorrow (Thursday), Sekwale said he expects a lot of local riders who will be competing at the South African cycling challenges, more especially the Cape Argus to grace the race and use it to prepare themselves for the race.
“In the past edition of the race last year, we had close to 300 riders competing. We cannot for sure say we will have the same number, but we are expecting a decent turnout for this year’s race as well,” Sekwale said. The main race, which is the 108 km race, will be made of two loops of 54 kms from Boatle to Mmankgodi. The Wharic Challenge, which will be entering its seventh year, is sponsored by Wharic Construction Company.
