GABORONE, March 26 (Xinhua) -- The Botswana Cycling Association (BCA) will send a six-man team to the 11th Confederation of African Cycling (CAC) Mountain Bike (MTB) Continental Championships scheduled for Windhoek, Namibia.

Tlamelo Dube, BCA secretary general, said in an interview on Tuesday that the team is made up of five male riders and one female rider who will compete in three categories.

Dube said the aim is to gain more points and improve on the country's rankings in order to qualify for Tokyo 2020.

"The championships will be used as Olympic qualifiers for both individual and the country through points gained," he said.

The next stop after CAC MTB Continental Championships, Dube said, will be the All Africa Games scheduled for August and there after the World Championships in September.

Events will include the Olympic cross country loop race, the Olympic marathon and mixed relay.

Dube further said four of the cyclists will be going for a preparatory training camp in Namibia to be conducted by the World Cycling Centre Africa from April 1 until the end of the competition.

The team will leave for Namibia on April 10.

Seven teams have confirmed participation at the championships slated for April 12 to 14.

They include Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mauritius, South Africa, Zimbabwe and hosts Namibia.