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Simba Jemwa, Sports Correspondent
LOCAL hero Andrew Chikwaka won the men’s elite category after a gruelling three days of riding in the 2021 Volta A Bulawayo Cycle Tour on Sunday.

The Makokoba-bred cyclist became one of the youngest winners of the Volta in history when he registered a tactical 5 hours, 51 minutes 5 seconds after four stages.

The 25-year-old Unimills-Hokoyo team rider delivered a perfect sprint finish to clinch the 120km Stage 4 race after surviving the uphill Blue Hills (Danger along Gwanda Road) close to Esigodini, and winning in 2 hours 54 minutes 33 seconds, just one second ahead of teammate Amos Chakaza.

Going into Sunday’s penultimate ride, Chikwaka held a five-minute lead over his rivals, including the experienced Rory Mackie, who finished a distant fourth in 3 hours 3 minutes 11 seconds in the demanding Blue Hills uphill and downhill route three times.

“This title definitely means a lot to me. It has been a tough time for all riders due to Covid and I just feel blessed to be healthy and able to win,” Chikwaka said.

“I put on a bit of weight during the lockdown, but I have worked really hard to get into shape once we heard that we would be racing again.”

Chikwaka was able to save his energy for the big climbs when teammate Chakaza made the only significant break of the day, going clear with Dube just after the first Blue Hillsuphill climb.

Unimills-Hokoyo opted to field a ‘B’ Team because three of their top four riders were competing in the Bambos 109km race in Harare.

The Harare race was won by top South African rider Nolan Hoffman, who pipped Unimills-Hokoyo national champion Advocate Phiri by two seconds in a sprint finish. – @RealSimbaJemwa