SM teas: Robindale resident Gustav Roller writes:
I am 16 years old this year and I am a member of the Northcliff Cycles Club and attend Hoërskool Randburg. In cycling terms that makes me a final year youth U17 rider
I have been invited to race with Team WAC in Belgium during the July school break. This is a huge opportunity and dream of every young cyclist to be noticed by a European team.
WAC is the official development team for the Alpecin-Deceuninck team that features riders like Mattieu van der Poel and the winner of our own Paarl Boxing Day Classic in 2021, Jonas Rickaert. This is an important first step for me to showcase my talent and hopefully make my way into a development squad.
With both parents being cycling enthusiasts, I was lucky to develop my passion for cycling at an early age. I have managed to deliver some good results so far. I dream of making a career out of cycling and have set myself robust goals: Representing South Africa at the 2028 Olympics as a track, and possibly, road cyclist is what keeps me motivated.
As first year U17, last year I managed to deliver two wins and several top 10 finishes in Belgium’s youth races with my small SA team sponsored by Absa. This has not been achieved by any other SA youth cyclist in recent years. As the current SA U17 road cycling champion, I also hold the SA road cycling titles in every age category from U11 as well as SA track cycling titles in all track cycling events from U11 to U17.
In 2022 I was awarded the title of Gauteng Road Cyclist of the year. I have also set 13 national track cycling records. Although my focus is road and track, as a mountain biker I can also hold my own and I am the current (2022) Gauteng Schools champion in the Youth U15 category. I was also the Gauteng XCO champion (U15) in 2021. Another highlight was an overall win at the two-day Berg and Bush mountain bike stage race in 2022 with my partner Nickolas van der Merwe.
Cycling is hard work and demands dedication when it comes to training and developing your skills. People say that cycling is an expensive sport, but it does not have to be, road and track cycling is a lot more affordable than mountain biking. All the above was achieved while never owning a new bike or having a dedicated specialist coach.
I have created a Back-a-buddy profile to help with funding my trip to Belgium. Any assistance towards reaching my cycling goals will be greatly appreciated. It is called Gustav Roller Cyclist Belgium 2023.
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