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<\/a><\/p>\nFaiez Basardien, Ashley Jacobs, Schalk Damons and Bevan Solomons<\/span><\/p>\nThe learners, who all experience hardships living in one of the worst gang ridden areas in Cape Town, say the opportunity to train and then compete in the largest timed cycling event was a way of \u201cgetting away from their circumstances and focussing on the road ahead.\u201d <\/p>\n
Where to now?<\/h2>\n
The team will be participating in the forthcoming Western Province trials at Killarney and will also be part of a relay team at the Discovery World Triathlon in April.<\/p>\n
The opportunities for the young men beyond cycling include continued mentorship and having a positive influence on the wider community and fellow pupils at the school. \u201cThe purpose of the programme goes way beyond sporting events and competitions,\u201d says Wesley. \u201cThe real goal is to provide alternatives for vulnerable youths from impoverished communities to explore and experience the world outside of their difficult lives. We really feel we have inspired these young men through the development cycling programme to achieve great things and we will be with them all the way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Quotes from the young riders after their races:<\/p>\n
\nIt was so exciting although I had some ups and downs because I had a puncture at around 30km. Although I stopped to try and fix it but it didn\u2019t hold so I just rode the rest of the route anyway. I loved the atmosphere and being part of this ride.
\n
Schalk Damons<\/cite>\n<\/div>\n\nIt was a wonderful experience although I did get a little nervous on one of the downhills with faster cyclists came speeding past me and they were so close!
\n
Bevan Solomons<\/cite>\n<\/div>\n\n
It was incredible, I really enjoyed it. I pulled my hamstring on the last hill but carried on riding and believe that for my first \u201cArgus\u201d I did a good time, I put in the effort and it paid off. I am satisfied with my time and my race.
\nFaiez Basardien<\/cite>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nIt was an easy ride and I loved every minute of the atmosphere and being part of the event.
\n
Ashley Jacobs<\/cite>\n<\/div>\n\nUnfortunately I had a puncture and although I stopped and we tried to fix it I couldn\u2019t but I was determined to finish the race and get my medal so I walked, pushing my bike, for the last few kilometres. I am so proud that I finished and loved the experience. I can\u2019t wait to race again.
\n
Michael-Owen Dyson<\/cite>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Team spirit and pride bound the five young men from Lavender Hill \u2013 the newbie cyclists who were chosen to be part of Virgin Active Development Cycling team. It was with one heart that they left the start line at 08:02. The learners: Michael-Owen Dyson, Bevan Solomons, Faiez Basardien, Ashley Jacobs and Schalk Damons, who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":49382,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[4353,4351,4352,4350,4354,45],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-20394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-ashley-jacobs","tag-bevan-solomons","tag-faiez-basardien","tag-michael-owen-dyson","tag-schalk-damons","tag-virgin-active"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20394\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20394"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=20394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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