Shukuma-NMMU captain Wesley Augustyn (right) will lead his team at the Bestmed USSA Cycling championships in Port Elizabeth from June 25 to 28.
Photo: Romke de Jongh
The Shukuma-NMMU squad will be aiming to add a second victory to their name when they host the Bestmed University Sport South Africa cycling championships in Port Elizabeth next week.
The event starts with the mountain bike discipline on Tuesday, June 25, followed by the three-day road tour from Wednesday.
Although not the defending champions – that honour belongs to the University of Pretoria – the local team set a winning precedent when they last hosted the championships five years ago.
Team captain Wesley Augustyn, who was part of 2008′s victorious squad, said their main focus would be on winning the overall team classification. “But an individual overall win will also be in the back of the riders’ minds,” he admitted.
“I would say that we are probably stronger as a team than we were in 2008, but the competition has become tougher and more pro riders are competing.”
The outfit comprises Augustyn, danger men Gerrit Nel and Marinus Prinsloo, as well as Waldo Gronum, Phillip Erasmus and Henno Cronje.
The team will be without the services of Sean Bos, who broke his collarbone in a crash during a training camp in Franschhoek last week.
Augustyn said Nel, who hails from Graaff-Reinet, was on his best form again after battling heart problems over the past few years.
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