Cyclist Dube credits fitness for longevity

Yesteryear greats with Lovemore Dube

WILSON Dube a living cycling legend who at 83 is probably the only survivor of his generation in the sport.

He was on Thursday honoured by his own people when YAFM of Zvishavane and organisers of the Nedbank Tour de Great Dyke decided to make him the event’s Ambassador.

Like many great athletes of yesteryear, he was forgotten the day age suggested he could no longer compete among the elite in the country. What was left of him were bruised ego in him and memories in those that followed his great cycling career which saw him dominate both track and road cycling events.

Dube’s feat did not end in the competitions he took part in but was there to create a new generation of heroes in the 1990s, though sadly a chapter would seemingly close in a career that gave him so much fame in the country but was unlucky to have international doors shut on him.

Dube missed out on representing his country because management at Shabanie Mine was just content with competitions within the country’s borders.

A near tears Dube walked up to receive a rare present soon after being appointed Brand Ambassador for the Nedbank Tour de Great Dyke.

“I would like to thank Hwengwere and his group for organising this,” said Dube as he received a full solar kit to light up his home at his Mandamambwe home in Chivi District.

Exide Batteries among a host of sponsors and partners of the event sponsored Dube’s donation much to the delight of other sponsors, cyclists and Zimplats managers in attendance at the launch of the 2024 Tour de Great Dyke at Selous.

In an interview later in the evening in Kwekwe where cyclists stayed overnight before the second leg which took them to Shurugwi for an overnight stay at Unki, Dube said all his years’ toil at the apex of cycling in the country were not paying.

He said they cycled for pride and the badges of the companies that employed them. He said the present from Exide past his great days was an appreciated gesture. He encouraged many to come forward and help former athletes and improve their lives as in their days sport was purely amateur and recreation.

“Mwanangu I cant believe this, I am so grateful for what these people have done for me. My home will be lit and I appreciate the gesture. If I had received money or big prizes like this during my days, my life after retirement would have been sweeter. We cycled for blankets, shirts and T-shirts,” said the father of six.

He said with blankets and shirts, the Chamber of Mines Championships in which he excelled in the 21 and 42-lap events were his favourites and he had dominated the scene for a while.

He said passion had seen cyclists of his era investing in expensive bikes despite companies and mines providing such.

“If you wanted to be a better cyclist, you had to have your own bike to allow you to put extra hours. Companies would only release bikes at their own time that did not allow extra work,” said Dube.

Born near Beira to a father who worked in Zimbabwe on 29 September 1942, Dube came to this country at an early age to live with his paternal uncle who worked at Shabanie.

He arrived here and got a job as a gardener and would later take himself to night school.

His first sport was boxing. With no good boxer good enough to beat him, after eight fights Dube got bored and opted for cycling in 1965.

Cycling got him a job as an assistant at the milling plant and was promoted to the blasting department and would later work as a shaft supervisor.

“I met a lot of ministers after Independence who used to come to Shabanie during Mugabe’s time. It is only President Mugabe who I did not see,” said Dube with an air of self-importance of having met political leaders that many see on television or read about.

With a full-time job and peace of mind, cycling became the best winner as Dube started slow with bashings in 1966 from teammates at Shabanie Mine Cycling Club.

“When I arrived at Shabanie, I wanted to work hard and be a champion but they had seasoned guys who were beating me at practice until I improved. Jubheki Nyoni, Chris Simbini, Timothy and Titos were the top guys and trained on their own. I started doing better than them and was put in the team for that year’s Chamber of Mines Track, Cycling and Tug-of-War Championships. I made my debut on 16-17 June 1966 and went on to become multi-champion in cycling.

“Now with my own bicycle, I was able to train more after hours. There is no secret to success, hard work. Even this event Hwengwere has worked so hard for it to happen,” said Dube.

He believes the bicycle he bought in Kwekwe 1966 propelled him to great heights and he kept it for years.

When he got onto the scene, Dube says the best cyclists were Reggie Mbizha from Hwange, Mhangura’s Samson Moyo who would later switch to Rio Tinto and the Kadoma club’s John Musa, Chasi and Leonard Mudenda of Mhangura.

He said in later years Julius Moyo and Patrick Ford of Shurugwi and Wankie Colliery’s Martin Chipembere became cyclists of repute too.

“For many years I was national champion but what hurt me most was that Shabanie Mine never wanted its cyclists and athletes to compete outside the country. I would have won in Botswana, South Africa, Malawi and Zambia. I was a good cyclist and I have dozens of medals won on home soil,” said Dube.

Dube loved the tracks at Callies, now Bulawayo Chiefs Village, and the Peak Mine one.

“I enjoyed my races there and won most of my titles there,” said Dube.

At his peak Dube competed with cyclists from Zambia, South Africa and Portugal and beat them to the finishing post.

Dube who took part in the 2023 Nedbank Tour de Great Dyke event did not participate in this year’s as he fell off the bike and was hurt.

His sons Timothy, Noah and Tinos were great cyclists for Shabanie.

Dube is proud of the cyclists he groomed and among them is Tony dos Santos who came from Mozambique and worked under him until he became a Commonwealth and Olympic cyclist.

He said at 82 he can still cycle and believes fitness derived from a regular cycle has kept him alive this far.

The Tour de Great Dyke promotes wellness which organisers believe is key to improved productivity.