Team Abantu principal Dean Edwards announced that the 1500m South African Track Champion Christopher Mlotshwa has been taken under his wing and drafted into the Abantu – Panda Cycling Academy.
This has been done with the aim of developing and promoting him into the professional Durban based Team Abantu Pro Cycling Team within the next two years.
Mlotshwa rocked the SA track cycling fraternity in April when he surprised South Africa’s top sprinters to claim the 1500m title.
Mlotshwa took his chances and attacked the peloton from the gun with all the favourites including 2012 Olympian Bernard Esterhuizen under estimating the strength and speed of the 21 year old Hilton resident.
The efforts and talent of Mlotshwa caught the attention of Edwards who didn’t waste any time in inviting Mlotshwa down to Durban to conduct some scientific testing at PRIME High Performance Center.
Tests confirmed what Edwards saw on the track, a athlete with raw talent and huge potential which secured him a spot on the Academy team.
“Chris’s story is similar to that of Oupa Maluleke. Oupa, racing as a development rider for the Panda Sportswear Academy won the silver medal in the 1500m at the 2012 SA Track Champs. We then drafted Oupa into our setup and today he is part of the Commonwealth Games team and one of the countries top track riders.” said Edwards.
