IN PICTURES: SA cyclists receive support at Breakfast of Champions

Discipline, self-belief and putting in extra effort kept coming up at the 2018 Breakfast of Champions, which featured road cycling legend, Darryl Impey.

The voice of cycling, Phil Liggett, an English commentator and journalist who has covered the Tour de France 46 times, sat down to interview Impey in a room full of pro cyclists, sponsors and stakeholders at The Wanderers Club.

The event was a fundraiser for Support SA Talent, which funds talented South African road cyclists who have been selected to represent the national team, or who hope to compete in major national and international cycling races.

A delicious breakfast was followed by the insightful interview, with both Liggett and Impey retelling anecdotes from their careers.

The main focus of the interview turned midway to everything Impey had to overcome in his professional career, and what he learned from the ups and downs. These included not having a contract with any team for a while, overcoming a significant crash and injuries, and dealing with changing form.

“I won’t sugarcoat it; if you want to ride the Tour de France then it’s a lot of hard work and sacrifices getting there,” Impey said.

“There is always something to strive for in this sport. People want to go from pro straight to winning big but the opportunities are not always there. There are steps to getting there.”

He advised that an aspiring road cyclist should always listen to their coaches and even go the extra mile for the team because it would be noticed.

Impey, who became the first African to wear the yellow jersey at Tour de France and was also the first South African to win the Tour Down Under in Australia, said if he could have gone back he would have taken cycling more seriously when he was younger, hired a coach and listened to his father more.

“But having said that there were things I learned while I was fighting for a team. The things I’ve seen and the setbacks helped define my career.”

Support SA Talent lead ambassador, Myles van Musschenbroek encouraged the audience to help support future South African cycling stars, before the 2018 Road Cycling Series awards were held.

This saw SA’s top road cyclists step onto the stage and receive their trophies from Impey and Liggett.

IN PICS: 23 000 cyclists ride the 947 in reverse 

If you know of sport stories you would like published, let us know about them by sending an e-mail to our sports editor at nicholasz@caxton.co.za