A team of cyclists from Ghetto MTB Cycling Club have embarked on a 573 km long cycling challenge from Francistown to Maun dubbed Ultra Marathon, which is intended offer training opportunity for club members ahead of upcoming competitions, while giving back to schools in villages along the route.
The team began the 582km cycling challenge in Francistown on the 24th April 2025 through Orapa/Letlhakane and will complete the challenge on the 26th April 2025 in Maun.
The team has so far covered 225km from Francistown to Letlhakane on the first day and covering the 217km from Letlhakane to Khumaga today. They will complete the challenge by covering the 140km from Khumaga to Maun tomorrow.
The challenge is sponsored by Pure Work Investment Construction Company and Orange Mark Car Rental – which is based in Gaborone, Francistown and Maun.
In an interview, event organiser Aopa Gulubane said through the challenge they intend to train their team members for upcoming cycling competitions and to give back to the community especially schools along the way.
He noted that the challenge allows cyclists an opportunity to also appreciate the beauty of Botswana while doing what they love the most. Gulubane also mentioned that through the event they want to challenge their mental and physical endurance as they usually do a number of kilometres.
“We also intend to sell cycling sports to other Batswana who are not familiar with the sport and encourage them to join, and to promote cycling as an alternative to driving with multiple benefits to the environment and wellness,’’ he said.
Gulubane has told Times Sport that since they established the initiative some schools have benefited, including Mabesekwa and Changate primary schools as well as Matsiloje and Goshwe junior secondary schools.
According to Gulubane the cycling challenge from Francistown to Maun will be their fourth and longest. He said that during their first event they covered Tonota, Mabesekwa, Matsitama, Lepashe, Mosetse and Marapong while in the second one they covered Tonota, Mmadinare, Phikwe, Robelela, Matopi and Matsiloje.
He further stated that their third event covered Letsholathebe, Masunga, Gambule, Gungwe, Mbalambi, Goshwe, Changate, Dagwi, Maitengwe and Nkange.
When asked about high chances of encountering wild animals along the cycling route, Gulubane revealed that to ensure safety their support team will be covering the cycling team all the way especially in areas they are likely to encounter wild animals.
Meanwhile, Gulubane had indicated that usually their cycling challenges attract around 15 members consisting of nine athletes and six members of the support team, but due to clashing dates with other activities they are likely to have less numbers in the activity as some were still to confirm their availability. He lamented that their club is not yet registered due to financial challenges, with some members having relocated and joined other clubs.
