On the streets of Khayelitsha, South Africa, Bonga Ngqobane steadies his handle bars. The road ahead is paved with a series of seemingly impassable challenges. But this cyclist is a professional at overcoming obstacles. He cranks his foot on the pedal and races off, leaving a mist of sand in his wake. As the dust settles, a clear route is revealed. Scores of youth eagerly line up behind Ngqobane, determined to make their mark in the sport. “We’re creating a pathway for them,” he says.
Ngqobane loved to ride growing up, but couldn’t afford his own bike. “Cycling is one of the most expensive sports,” he says. Using his pocket money, young Ngqobane would rent a bicycle from a friend and speed around the streets until dark. Despite the sport’s exclusivity, he stayed on track. In the years that followed, Ngqobane competed in provincial competitions and finished the gruelling ABSA Cape Epic in 2014. While he blazed a trail for people of colour in the sport, cycling was still inaccessible to kids in his neighbourhood. “I saw a gap that needed to be bridged,” Ngqobane says. So, he founded the Bonga Cycling Academy from a garage in Khayelitsha.
Today, Ngqobane trains over 30 aspiring cyclists, providing them with the skills and equipment to participate in the sport. The academy has significantly altered the course of his students' lives, with a few going on to ride professionally. Yet for Ngqobane, there’s so much more to cycling than winning. “Sport helps transform people,” he says. “It teaches you responsibility, values, self-love, respect – those things create character in a person.” The centre has become a place of support for the kids in his community, where Ngqobane steers them in the right direction. If we give others a push, they too can achieve greatness.
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