The road to becoming a professional wasn’t easy for me

I always had a bike as a kid just to ride around for fun. Then, at 15, I did my first race. That’s when I realised cycling as a competitive sport. I had a mountain bike and joined my local club. They all had road bikes and I struggled a bit so after a few rides, I got myself a road bike. They encouraged me to do the local races in Rustenburg. I got dropped in my first two races but I loved riding. I excelled more than the other sports I did at school and knew there was something I really liked about this sport.

The following year I was a second year under 16 rider started taking it more seriously. I quickly became double junior national title. A local club run by former professional Nic White helped me get to Belgium to get some international exposure. Europe was a huge eye opener to me. The coverage of racing in South Africa was still mostly the Tour de France so I wasn’t aware of the scope of cycling and how big it was in many European countries. I realised you could actually make a career out of it and that motivated me. The road wasn’t easy though. Besides the work I’d have to put it to get onto a European level, leaving home alone at such a young age wasn’t easy. I didn’t know anyone. I jumped on a plane with my bike and tried to figure out where I would stay. How do I enter races? How do I get around? I knew nothing.

At that point, my family didn’t know anything about professional cycling. I was travelling into this world we knew nothing about but I’m glad it did. It has given us an amazing life now. Every year they understand cycling better. It’s nice coming home back to normal life and being away from the pressures of the sport. It’s quite strange how my career has grown and well-known I’ve become. I haven’t really come to terms with it and it’s still very strange for me. I hope to inspire others with my career. I’m not perfect by any means and there is a lot of room for improvement so it’s strange to have people looking up to me but I hope a little bit of my story will inspire younger kids.

If you really want something in life, with enough effort, the likelihood of achieving it becomes more realistic. Circumstances play a role but if you really want something, you can get it. The road to becoming a professional wasn’t easy for me. I had so many roadblocks. There was no African team to get you to Europe. I had no network in Europe. I purposefully tried to meet a lot of people who had networks and made sure I was always performing on the bike. I actually sat down and worked out a plan for my dreams and put the effort in then the right opportunities came my way.

It makes me appreciate what I have now. You see many riders who have an expectant mentality but because of the road I’ve travelled, I don’t take what I have for granted.

“Getting out of the door is routine for me but I become hyper-focused when I’m out there suffering on the bike. I imagine when the race is won or lost and that gives me the motivation to push harder”.

I’m a naturally motivated person. At school I was consistent and looked to improve all the time. I often get asked what motivates me and gets me out of the door every day. On a big level, I’m focussed on overall goals for my career but on the everyday level, I really get motivated when I’m out training doing intervals. When I get deep into the hurt zone I push myself even deeper because I feel it’s the difference between winning and losing.

Getting out of the door is routine for me but I become hyper-focused when I’m out there suffering on the bike. I imagine when the race is won or lost and that gives me the motivation to push harder. I usually work on the mental side too because when you’re hurting, you know you are doing it right. When you’re dreading those hard intervals, you’ll just be counting the minutes and not focused on the effort so I choose to embrace it rather.

About my move to Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka. The team approached me with an interesting project. Their goal is to get a rider onto a Grand Tour podium. They’re building a team around me and that is the dream we’re chasing. It’s amazing to get that support from a team. The great thing is that the Grand Tour podium was a team goal before I arrived. They’ve been working hard to achieve that. For us to have that as a common goal was a perfect match and it is what got me excited when we were in talks.

I’ll be doing the Giro d’Italia this year and skipping the Tour de France. The Giro is an interesting prospect to me. It’s something I’m excited about. I am nervous but I am working hard towards the race and looking forward to it. Many riders have told me they thought it’s a Grand Tour that suits me and I should go for it. That’s one of the things that made me want to do it. My first race is Volta ao Algare. Thank you for following my story as it continues to unfold. The dream continues.