Johannesburg – MTN-Qhubeka's World Cycling Centre Africa Team Director, Jean-Pierre van Zyl, believes their time trial win will serve as a confidence booster ahead of the men's road race on Sunday.
The team, which acts as the development squad to Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung, won the team time trial at the SA National Championships on Friday. They will line up against some of the country's most elite cyclists in the race on Sunday.
“This is a great confidence boost for these young riders ahead of the road race on Sunday,” Van Zyl said on Friday.
“Our main goal for the championships was to win the team time trial and then to target the under-23 category in the road race on Sunday.
“We might be the feeder team, but we can challenge the more experienced riders during this event.”
Van Zyl credited the team's success to an intensive two-week training programme they had prior to the Championships.
“The secret to our success is that the whole team has been living together for a while in our base in Potchefstroom,” Van Zyl said.
“So they are training together and growing as a unit. I am very happy, as a lot of work has gone into this result.” – Sapa