Young cyclist nominated for prestigious award

South Africa has been a hotbed for cycling talent in the past 10 years with the likes of Robbie Hunter, Daryl Impey and Louis Meintjies becoming global stars.   MTN Qhebeka’s Jayde Julius is a young cyclist whose name could well be thrown into the same bracket in the very near future.  Julius, who has been training and staying in Potchefstroom for the past year, will represent the sporting capital of the North West at the 2015 South African Sports Awards on 22 November in the Newcomer of the Year category. This hard-working cyclist has had a stellar year in which he won the u.23 national title at the South African Road Championships and also finished third in the elite race. This victory was followed by another win at the African Continental Championships, to be crowned the African u.23 champion.

Last weekend, Julius ended his season with a brilliant fifth place in the Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge to help his team to the overall first place.

“It was an absolutely phenomenal race for us as a team. It was an incredible feeling to achieve what we wanted to this season, as we worked very hard. Our manager, JP van Zyl has played a crucial part,” he said excitedly, a couple of days after the race.

Julius is honoured to be nominated in the category along with the other big sporting names and believes that Cycling SA has had a fantastic year.

“It gives me a big motivation to continue with my success this year. Becoming SA under 23 champion and the inclusion as a stagiaire has been a big step in the right direction. I have worked hard to be nominated and the next step will be to win it come Sunday,” he added.   According to Julius, he has also had positive feedback from overseas riders and team in the time spent in Europe this year.   “I put a lot of effort and excellence into my training. I am also quite hard on myself to be the best that I can be and it keeps me motivated when I get feedback from other professionals.”  “I would like to thank Rik Keyearts, Douglas Ryder and JP van Zyl for the amazing year and contribution to my cycling career. Next, I would like to target competing in the Vuelta de Espara, Giro dÍtalia and the Tour de France. That would be amazing.”

The SA Sports Awards will be broadcast live on SABC 2 from 17:00 on Sunday 22 November.