Historic first as Kaka is appointed Team Bonitas captain

[Shangri la]

You are SOOOO disadvantaged with a Green Niner...

[Eldron]

Let the captain shows us what he can do, respect is urned and not a given.

I do not mind giving any bloke a chance as long as he can deliver the goods and sustain the quality of the team. Good luck and "Go big or go home"

 

This guy has been round the block a few times - he might not have a fistful of palmares but he's put in the hard yards.

 

He certainly is deserving of a place in any local team.

 

As a rider and man I think he's worth his salt - I just think the media are doing him a diservice by playing the colour card. He deserves the position as a man - not a "black" man.

[Eldron]

You are SOOOO disadvantaged with a Green Niner...

 

Not quite sure how to take this...my sarcasm filter seems to be broken.

 

Just because I have a Niner now (yeah - it's a carbon RDO - so what?) doesn't mean I was a priviliged white boy - much like LLK didn't grow up racing Pinarellos....

[Alien Racer]

MTBer01, on Today, 13:30, said:

 

Oh please! You're an ignorant idiot. You will never get it...

 

 

What makes you special to judge who is best for the job or not? I posted him a challenge and it is up to him to make his team proud. If you were so good why are you not in a pro team? I agree that a rider should only be made captain if he is worthy of the task. It is still Team Bonitas decision if we like it or not. They offered him the captain position and it's his job to deliver. Judging other peoples caracter without knowing them is a sign of insucurities of yourself. No use bad mouthing others if they have a positive attitude and you not.

[Matt]

I don't usually chime in on debates, but this particular one I'll make an exception for.

 

I know Luthando personally and have known him for almost 10 years. I "grew up" racing and riding with Luthando in a sense. First meeting him at the 2004 Junior Tour in Ermelo and racing together through the Junior and U23 ranks. I've got family ties to the Life Cycling Academy where he spent his early riding years and through this had the privilege of getting to know him a bit better. He is an incredible guy; focussed, ambitious yet at the same time humble and grounded.

 

When I first met him in 2004, he was on a cobbled together bike in old kit that his Kayelitsha based club had managed to pull together. At that stage with little in the way of development funding or programmes he was competing against the likes of John Lee Augustyn and Jaco Venter, to name a few, who back then were already formidable opponents. As I recall he finished just shy of the top 10 overall. It was pretty clear then already that he was a talented and hard working individual. It was these attributes and the results he produced which stood him in line for many opportunities down the line and no doubt the same which have seen him to where he is today.

 

Knowing Luthando I'm sure he'll be celebrating the fact that he is team Captain and deserved one at that. The challenges he's faced and where he's come from are noteworthy and should not be ignored, but he's done the hard yards to get where he is today and deserves to be there on merit alone.

 

Really well done Luthando! And best of luck with this new chapter of your career.

[Ab 1]

Oh please! You're an ignorant idiot. You will never get it...

 

[MTB_Roadie]

This will probably get me labelled a racist but who cares?

 

So he's black.

 

Well done.

 

Why do we need to celebrate someone's skin colour? He's as able bodies as every other colour of cyclist.

 

Now I realise that in the context of South Africas past this should be highlighted but if I were black I'd feel a bit wronged if people celebrated me being a cycling team captain after 200 whities had been appointed team captains. It's like second place.

 

Same with the Spud actor. So you're gay. Congratulations. I'm heterosexual and have been since birth. I didn't have to put an emotional youtube video together to let the world know.

 

That said I'm the first 25% irish south african over 6 foot tall with a shaved head and over 80kg with a Green Niner to race world xco champs in pmb. Goooooo me!

 

Poppycock.

 

Very well written and I agree 100%...problem is they always throw the race card although the younger generation was never really involved in it, kind of sad...because the young talent moves out of SA so eventually there will be no more talent left due to them always standing in the back of the line.

Edited August 14, 2013 by MTB_Roadie

[Danger Dassie]

 

This guy has been round the block a few times - he might not have a fistful of palmares but he's put in the hard yards.

 

He certainly is deserving of a place in any local team.

 

As a rider and man I think he's worth his salt - I just think the media are doing him a diservice by playing the colour card. He deserves the position as a man - not a "black" man.

 

It's as much a PR backing of that, saying "media" is the broadest of terms.

The race issue really does get overplayed so often, but not so much in this specific case and in a sport so predominately white it is pretty significant, especially in his community.

Guaranteed, even if no mention had been made of his colour in the release, someone would have brought up the "affirmative" card. As has been done plenty times.

['Dale]

I don't usually chime in on debates, but this particular one I'll make an exception for.

 

I know Luthando personally and have known him for almost 10 years. I "grew up" racing and riding with Luthando in a sense. First meeting him at the 2004 Junior Tour in Ermelo and racing together through the Junior and U23 ranks. I've got family ties to the Life Cycling Academy where he spent his early riding years and through this had the privilege of getting to know him a bit better. He is an incredible guy; focussed, ambitious yet at the same time humble and grounded.

 

When I first met him in 2004, he was on a cobbled together bike in old kit that his Kayelitsha based club had managed to pull together. At that stage with little in the way of development funding or programmes he was competing against the likes of John Lee Augustyn and Jaco Venter, to name a few, who back then were already formidable opponents. As I recall he finished just shy of the top 10 overall. It was pretty clear then already that he was a talented and hard working individual. It was these attributes and the results he produced which stood him in line for many opportunities down the line and no doubt the same which have seen him to where he is today.

 

Knowing Luthando I'm sure he'll be celebrating the fact that he is team Captain and deserved one at that. The challenges he's faced and where he's come from are noteworthy and should not be ignored, but he's done the hard yards to get where he is today and deserves to be there on merit alone.

 

Really well done Luthando! And best of luck with this new chapter of your career.

 

Great backstory,

 

Thanx, Admin.

['Dale]

 

 

 

 

It's as much a PR backing of that, saying "media" is the broadest of terms.

The race issue really does get overplayed so often, but not so much in this specific case and in a sport so predominately white it is pretty significant, especially in his community.

Guaranteed, even if no mention had been made of his colour in the release, someone would have brought up the "affirmative" card. As has been done plenty times.

 

 

I laaik.

[rock]

was just thinking, what other teams have team captains? seems a new concept to me, sure you have a leader for a particular race but they're only leading a small portion of the entire team.....?