These are the words of the only South African, and African, to have the yellow jersey in the Tour de France – Daryl Impey.
He is the man who made history in the 100th edition of the world’s greatest cycle race, the Tour de France. Speaking to the NEWS from his home on the coast, Mr Impey recounted his early years as a boy growing up in Johannesburg.
“I used to play cricket and soccer. It was my father who encouraged me to develop an interest in mountain biking and I have not looked back since,” said Mr Impey.
He also recalled the sacrifices he made in order to get to where he wanted to be. “One needs to surround themselves with the right people, coaches and have a good support system. Cycling is an expensive sport so there are issues with funding in order to train using the best equipment,” said Mr Impey.
He said it takes hard work and determination. When asked to describe his historic moment, he said he struggled to find the words.
“Seeing the video footage of the moment, I wanted to cry. I realised I was now a part of history and it gave me a great sense of achievement,” said Mr Impey.
He said all his sacrifices had been worth it and he appreciated the big impact his winning the yellow jersey had on the country.
He lamented the state of cycling in the country, saying it was far behind when compared to the rest of Europe.
“The standard is pretty poor. The best thing aspiring cyclists can do for themselves is to try and get to Europe as soon as possible,” said Mr Impey.
He advised cyclists to keep working hard and that they must have a genuine love for the sport. “Europe is a difficult place to be in terms of cycling. You encounter a number of challenges with the language, visas, contracts and not to mention that the teams are dominated by Europeans,” said Mr Impey.
He hardly gets any days off, but when he does, he spends the day at the gym and spends some time at the beach with his family. He described his training routine as pretty standard.
“I train every day and start at around 7am, just before the peak hours of traffic. I follow that with a massage and some physio,” said Mr Impey.
His next race will be the Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge in November this year, where he will race for charity.
