Velokhaya Riders Win Six Golds At SA BMX Championships

Cape Town, South Africa, May 11, 2010

The two young Velokhaya riders selected in December last year to join one of South Africa's top BMX teams, the Durban-based Team Jeep, for the South African BMX Championships, exceeded everyone's expectations - including their own - by each winning three gold medals in the event.

"This was a remarkable achievement for Khayelithsa's Xolisa Makhubalo (15) and Bayanda Ganyaza (12) considering both riders had only started BMXing just over a year ago, the SA Champs was their first event outside Khayelitsha and only their third ever competitive event.
"Not only did they do Velokhaya proud at the SA Champs, but their achievements also saw them qualify for Expert status and meet the qualification criteria for the World BMX Championships which will take place later this year," explains Glyn Broomberg, CEO of Velokhaya. According to Velokhaya's BMX coach, Skizo Vicani, "These talented two youngsters are an enormous inspiration to their peers. They have shown incredible passion for the sport and we are immensely proud of them."
Participation in the SA Championships was not the only novel experience for Xolisa and Bayanda. Their trip to Durban included their first ever flight and racing on an international-standard BMX track. The start gate system was also new to them. "The race used the UCI Pro Gate system and the boys had never before started a race with this system. This alone could have disadvantaged them but they showed everyone that nothing could stop them from taking gold in three legs of the race," said Sydney Webster, manager of Team Jeep.

The South African BMX Champs were held at the Giba Gorge BMX track, outside Durban, at the beginning of April and the World BMX Championships will be held in Pietermartizburg, South Africa from July 29 to August 1, 2010.

Click here to read Sydney Webster's report on Bayanda and Xolisa's participation in the event.

Picture:
Bayanda Ganyaza and Xolisa Makhubalo, pictured here with Team Jeep's Alex and Liam Webster and Nzuzo Mngadi