Sheldon was touring de Limpopo
“The toughest part was the climb up Magoebaskloof. It was a very long climb but it was over sooner than I thought. Coming down the pass was amazing, after the hard climb to the top. It was very rewarding!”
That is how Sheldon Muller (18) one of the youngest riders competing in this year’s Tour de Limpopo and team member of Team Limpopo will remember the race.
The Tour de Limpopo was a four day event that started in Bela-Bela.
The teams arrived at Bela Bela on Tuesday, May 14. On Wednesday the cyclists tackled 172 km from Bela Bela to Polokwane.
On Thursday they continued with their journey, riding 96km from Polokwane to Tzaneen. On Friday the cyclist took the roads in Tzaneen to Modjadjiskloof to the Coach House. The event concluded on Saturday, May 18 when cyclists left Tzaneen again to Polokwane .
Clint Hendricks from the ProTouch Continental team claimed the final stage in Polokwane with Samuele Battistella, Team Dimension Data Continental, securing the overall victory.
Muller matriculated last year from High School Merensky and is currently studying accounting in Pretoria at the Pearson Institute.
Letaba Herald caught up with Sheldon after he finished stage 2 in Tzaneen.
Muller started racing when he was 14.
The Tour de Limpopo was his first tour competition and he told Herald that he did other big races in the past.
“I’m aiming to do the Kremetart Cycle Race next. I do a lot of mountain biking too,” he said.
Muller was more excited to tackle the Tour de Limpopo than scared.
“I was a bit nervous for the start because the other riders were also very strong.”
When one looked at the live feed that was available for cyclist fans, the speed monitored were at times 100km/h
“I’m very scared of crashes at the high speeds and there were a few on the tour. Luckily I just missed them in time but the injuries can set you back for months. I haven’t had such a bad crash yet and hopefully not ever but it’s the risk you have to take,” he tells.
The toughest part of the tour for Muller was the climb up Magoebaskloof from Polokwane.
Read: GALLERY: #TourdeLimpopo – Stage 2 ends in Tzaneen
“It was a very long climb but it was over sooner than I thought, he remembers. Coming down Magoebaskloof was amazing, after the hard climb to the top I was very rewarding! And felt very good through the road bike even though it was so fast it was great! I felt in total control,” he told Herald.
Muller trained hard before the tour and made sure that he was well prepared for the race.
“I practice around 11-13 hours a week.” Muller dreams big.
“I have many future dreams but for now I’m trying to join a team and keep going from there and learn all there is so that I can pick up and always improve,” the young cyclist said.
Muller is confident that he will again participate in next years Tour de Limpopo.
According to him it was a great event and he would like to improve his results and compare it to this year. There’s a lot of top names in the cycling world that he look up to like Chris Froome and Daryl Impy. Before a race, Muller make sure he keeps calm.
“Stress effects my performance a lot. I think about all my training and everything I’ve done to get to where I am and tell myself that I am just as strong as everyone out there,” he concluded.
See you next year Sheldon…on the podium.
