South Africa’s Nicholas Dlamini Delighted to Make His Debut in Tour De France
- The Cape Town-based cyclist, Nicholas Dlamini, says it has always been his dream to ride in the Tour de France
- Dlamini will become the first South African to form part of the major international cycling event that will be staged from 26 June until 18 July
- The 25-year-old says he still can’t believe he has been selected to participate in the world’s highest cycling event
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His name is Nicholas Dlamini and he is set to become the first South African to be part of the Tour de France cycling event.
Dlamini is a member of Team Qhubeka ASSOS and they continue to make history as he will be one of the eight riders for Africa's only top-flight professional cycling team, the tour will run from 26 June until 18 July.
Dlamini will join the likes of Australia's Simon Clarke and Austrian Michael Gogl as well as including the Italian 2015 Vuelta and Espana winner Fabio Aru.
Source: Twitter
Dlamini expresses delight to join his maiden Tour de France
Dlamini said to BBC:
"Being selected to ride in my first Tour de France is an absolute dream come true for me. It's always been an childhood dream and now that I'm about to live it makes it feel surreal.
"I think it speaks to what the team is about, the Ubuntu spirit and how we change people's lives because it is honestly a very special moment: to come from a small township and then to go to the Tour de France."
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The ambitious cyclist was born in an informal settlement in the Western Cape province and first caught the eye as a runner before moving into cycling where his talents saw him move to the UCI's World Cycling Centre Africa in Potchefstroom, South Africa. He added:
"Considering where I come from it would simply have been impossible for me to have the opportunity to ride at the Tour de France if it wasn't for Team Qhubeka-Assos. The platform that they've provided me, and other riders from Africa, to compete at the highest level in cycling has been critical.
"I really hope that this will serve as a reference of hope and inspiration to many young South Africans, and people around the world, who have been working really hard to reach their dreams. My hope is that they take from this that anything is possible.”
On top of that, the team’s official website reports that the 25-year-old will make his debut at the event and becomes the first black South African ever to compete at the showpiece event.
Team Qhubeka ASSOS, Africa’s UCI WorldTour team, will make its seventh appearance at the Tour de France having first competed in 2015 (MTN-Qhubeka).
Over that period, the team has won seven stages; and worn the yellow, green and polka dot jerseys respectively.
Dlamini says he's living his childhood dream and it feels unreal
IOL also reported on the young Dlamini, saying he was living his dream and being selected to ride in France is a massive move. He is quoted:
“Being selected to ride in my first Tour de France is an absolute dream come true for me. It’s always been an absolute childhood dream for me and now that I’m about to live it makes it feel surreal.”
Mamelodi Sundowns striker targeting more goals
In other sports stories, Briefly News reported that Mamelodi Sundowns striker Kermit Erasmus says he didn’t do well in the 2020/21 DStv Premiership season.
Erasmus admits he should have found the back of the net more regularly for the league champions. This comes after Masandawana bagged their fourth league title in a row and managed to win it by opening a 13 points gap to the second-placed AmaZulu.
Speaking to the media, the former Cape Town City forward says he is hoping to come back stronger next season. The 30-year-old hitman managed to score six goals plus seven assists out of 26 matches across all competitions.
Erasmus addressed the press as per KickOff:
"In the first few games of the season, things were good, I just didn't get to the 30 goals. If people consider me as a failure, so be it. I am not ashamed to say that I failed. You have to be honest, you have to look at how the season went and if I played all the games or not."
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Source: Briefly News
