Nel gears up for a bumper end of season

“Things are very chilled out for me right now,” Nel said.

“I don’t have a lot races until maybe mid August where I will do the Lowveld Clover Tour and then from there on it’s just going to be a big build up towards end of season.”

Riding for the national U23 team, Nel put an outstanding performance in the Elite ITT event at last year’s African Continental Championship in Egypt. He claimed a bronze medal in the overall category and a silver medal in the under-23 category, setting the tone for the 2014 season.

In February, he booked a top five finish in the elite/U23 men’s road race at the South African National Road Cycling and Time Trial Championships, in Durban.

However two months later, he suffered a slump in form, resulting in a poor showing at the Mzansi Tour.

“My season started really well, I carried on from my December form and had a few good races.

“I went to national championships and had a good race there, but after that it kind of fell apart for a bit. I had a disastrous Mzansi Tour.

“Things just did not go well for me there. And now it’s just regrouping and preparing for the rest of the season.”

Nel said he looked to end his season on a better note and had targeted wins in the Lowveld as well as at the Amashova Durban Classic.

“I would like to do well at the Clover Tour and would like to at least get on the podium at the Amashova race and then 94.7 will probably be the biggest race at the end of the season.

“The Amashova has always been one of my favourite races. I’ve always had great results there. I’ve never won it, but have had some second places and third places.

“The race will be a big focus for the team, especially now that it’s a big event with a lot of TV coverage.”

– Sapa