It will be the
clash of the future champions when international star Nolan Hoffman leads the
invitational Boland ASG junior team against a strong World Cycling Centre
Africa (WCCA) contingent at the Bestmed Tour de Boland from Tuesday.
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| Nolan Hoffman |
The Franschhoek-based
sprinter, who returned from the UCI World Track Championships at the end of
February, will mentor the five youngsters from Wellington during the four-day
tour, which is presented by ASG.
They are Marc Kerr,
Timo Cooper, Wian-David Slabbert, George King and Corne Helberg. Barbados’s top
junior rider Jesse Kelly will join them as a special guest.
“I’m looking for a
win and at the same time to help the young riders,” said Hoffman, who usually
rides in the colours of Tasol-GT.
“We have a lot of
talent in SA. The only way to improve as a rider is in races and we need the
longer tours to become internationally competitive.”
The four-time Paarl
Boxing Day 25-mile winner said the Boland event was perfectly timed to test his
legs ahead of the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour the following week.
His squad will face
off against three WCCA teams, featuring six members of the MTN-Qhubeka feeder
team, including JC Nel (South Africa), Getachew Yohans (Ethiopia) and Till
Drobisch (Namibia).
The MTN-Qhubeka development
outfit is looking strong following their victory in the team time-trial event
at the national road championships this past weekend.
According to WCCA
director JP van Zyl, Nel and Drobisch were expected to lead the charge in the individual
(stage one) and team time-trial (stage two), while Calvin Benecke and Emile
Jacobs were the strongest hopefuls for the road race (stage three) and
criterium (stage four).
“The tour is well balanced
in its challenges and is one of our major goal races,” said Van Zyl. “It can be
viewed as a talent identification tour, where we will see who will become the
big names of the near future.”
The former Olympian
said the purpose of the Potchefstroom-based centre was to develop African
talent and prepare young riders to race internationally at a professional
level.
“There aren’t many
tours in South Africa, or Africa for that matter. Road racing needs more
competitive events and it is our duty to support those that make the opportunities
available. We are proud and honoured to be competing.”
Van Zyl said the
tour had all the elements to become a major event on the international calendar
including beautiful scenery, good weather and mountainous terrain to promote
challenging racing.
The daily stages
start and finish at the Allée Bleue wine estate, which is equidistant from
Franschhoek, Stellenbosch and Paarl.
The event wraps up on
Friday with a 40km fun ride through the winelands, which includes a
complimentary pancake and coffee stop in Franschhoek. All finishers will
receive a stemmed Allée Bleue glass filled with the wine of their choice.
For more
information, visit www.bolandcycling.co.za. Find the event on Facebook or
follow @TourdeBoland for updates.
