TEAM BENN: VICTOR NAKALENGA

Birthdate: 2 November 1986
Hometown: Windhoek
Discipline: Road and Mountain
Occupation: Shop Manager, BEN Namibia

In his own words:
Ever since I was a child, I have always had a passion for bicycles. I only learned about cycling as a sport at the age of 15 and only started cycling as a career at the age of 19.

The dream is to ride my bike overseas but at the same time I am living cycling as my dream by working in a bike shop. To be more basic, there is a bigger dream to achieve and at the same time I am livin the dream from my childhood.

Cycling as a sport kept me away from involving mysel in alcohol and drug abuse as it taught me discipline, respect, commitment and that only hard work pays off. These things I have never been taught because I have never had a father figure in my childhood to learn from.

My motives for cycling are:
- To become the best cyclist I can be and to be an inspiration to disadvantaged children
- To promote cycling as a good health tool and as a good mode of transportation in less developed countries
- To help give access to disadvantaged people through bicycles to mobolize them to get educational, economical and social activities
- To represent Namibia as a country at the highest level that I can reach

Selected Results:
2003
3rd - Namibian Mountan Bike Championships (junior men)

2004
2nd - Tuhafeni Mountain Bike Marathon (junior men)
3rd - Namibian Mountain Bike Championships (junior men)

2005
2nd - Namibain Mountain Bike Championships (elite men)
2nd - Omaruru Mountain Bike Marathon (elite men)

2006
1st - Cycle Classic Road Race (team classification)
6th - Nedbank/Polytech Road Race (1st under 23 Elite men)

2007
9th - Tour de Windhoek
13th - Cycle Classic Road Race

2008
4th - National Road Cycling Championships - elite men
2nd - National Mountain Bike Championships - U23
1st - Elite Men Club Champion (Windhoek Pedal Power)
1st - Elite men Windhoek Pedal Power Spring Series
2nd - Elite men Windhoek Pedal Power Summer Series
2nd - Elite men Rock n'Rut Mountain bike Series
1st - Otjihavera Mountain stage race
8th - Pick n' Pay Cycle Classic

About Team BEN Namibia:
Team BEN Namibia is a group of Namibia's top cyclists committed not only to developing the sport of bicycle racing in Namibia, but to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country. This new initiative is sponsored by the U.S. Embassy through a grant from the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Nucleus Health and Fitness Club and Bicycles for Humanity.