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Selous – The Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Mashonaland West, Hon Marian Chombo, officially launched a Cycling Tour competition that will see cyclists connecting Mashonaland West and Midlands Provinces in a three-day cycling tour.
The tour organized by the Zvishavane-based community radio station, YAFM, seeks to raise funds for charity with part of the proceeds from the event being channelled to an education support foundation.
Officially launching the cycling tour, Hon Marian Chombo expressed optimism that the tour will grow into a global cycling event.
“Given its growth trajectory, we are indeed optimistic that the Nedbank Tour de Great Dyke will grow to become an international event which is acknowledged by global cycling enthusiasts. We know this is the aspiration of YAFM, the tour organisers and we stand ready as Mashonaland West Province, where the tour starts to support this vision so that it is achieved,” she said.
Hon Chombo said the Nedbank Tour de Great Dyke fills an excellent need for fitness and wellness and dovetails into the government programme promoting wellness and healthy living in all citizens.
Hon Chombo paid tribute to the sponsors Nedbank for connecting communities through the event.
“Let me also note that the Nedbank Tour de Great Dyke is one of the most unique platforms in Zimbabwe because normally when you are playing sport in Zimbabwe you play it in one space. But because cycling involves motion, it engages and connects communities along the route such as Selous, Chegutu, Kadoma, Kwekwe, Gweru, Shurugwi and Zvishavane.
“Rarely do you have a platform that engages communities, miners and cities the same way that the Nedbank Tour de Great Dyke does. It has cyclists themselves, it has communities themselves and it has cities all coming together to celebrate the endurance of a human being, the beauty of the Great Dyke, and the joy of giving to charity. I understand part of the proceeds from the race will be donated to the Gifted Children Foundation which supports the education of talented but under-privileged children in the Great Dyke and beyond. To date, the Foundation has supported over 100 learners at various levels from primary to tertiary education,” she said
Cyclists will take three days on the pedals and cover over three hundred and twenty kilometres during the tour.
“Let me take this opportunity to thank the title sponsor, Nedbank, for sharing the same vision for the tour, as well as other partners and mining companies such as Zimplats, Mimosa and Unki that have registered their cyclists to participate as well as various other cycling clubs from across the country.,” Hon Chombo said.
She commended mining companies operating along Great Dyke for investing in the wellness of their workers.
“Let me commend the mining companies for their robust wellness programme for employees and the community which supports healthy behaviour and improvement of health outcomes with prevention of illness as the key element of the programme.”
Riding under the theme ‘Cycling for wellness, opportunity and charity,’ participants will get a glimpse of the Great Dyke that passes through Mashonaland West province, which is one of the richest geological features in the world.
The Minister invited investors in the mining sectors to invest in the exploration of the vast rich minerals along The Great Dyke.
“As a province, we are ready to host mining companies in the exploitation of minerals that are found in the dyke. Companies such as Zimplats are already leading in contributing to our provincial GDP figures and we would be happy to welcome more investors,” she said.
The tour will be divided into three laps with the Zimplats lap running from Selous to Kwekwe where the cyclists will put up for the night. The Unki lap will take the cyclists from Kwekwe to Shurugwi where they will again rest for the night before embarking on the Mimosa lap to Zvishavane.
Munyaradzi Hwengwere, YAFM Radio station Chairman, said they are optimistic the event will grow to become a world-renowned cycling event that will compete with other cycling tours such as Tour de France.