Rider a hopeful for the future

Cycling South Africa Road Commission (CSARC) selected the squad that will participate in European road races in preparation for the UCI Road World Champs in Doha, Qatar in October.

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The team were announced during the selection race weekend in Pietermaritzburg, along with the World Cup Para-cycling champs. The riders were selected based on their local performances, particularly their results from the 2016 SA National Road Championships during February in Durban. The pupil from Lowveld High School came 14th.

“It is a great achievement for me, as this is the first year that the road commission sends a junior team to Europe. The next three weeks are going to be very tough. I need to be ready by July as we do eight races in two weeks,” Pillay said.

Also read: Pillay youngest cyclist to clinch classic

He and his teammate, Ryan Terry placed first in the Panorama Tour. He came second in the Emperors’ Classic and got yet another gold medal in the Mpumalanga Championships that were held in Badplaas.

The tour includes a nations cup as well as a world cup. The team for the Road World Champs will be selected after the nations cup. A total of eight junior men will travel to Europe, but only six will start in the nations cup.

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“Demarco will most definitely be in the starting-six line-up. Riders gain a lot of experience in Europe before going to Worlds. He is a hopeful for the future, especially for the 2022 Common Wealth Games,” said his coach and director of CSARC, Bosseau Boshoff.