Cape Town - Cycling South Africa (CSA) has expressed its confidence in Daryl Impey and Louis Meintjes after the pair were named to compete in the 254.6km road race at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Cycling South Africa’s Road Commission director, Bosseau Boshoff, said in a statement on Thursday: “Daryl and Louis are a good combination and the course in Rio will suit their abilities - it’s a climber’s course and that is where Louis’s strength will come in.
“The recent form that Daryl has been showing in some of the tours, chasing down riders like Contador, has shown that he can support someone on a hilly circuit.
“On behalf of the Road Commission, congratulations to Daryl and Louis and we wish them the best of luck. There is an air of confidence and belief in both riders trusting that better than expected results may be achieved.”
Cycling SA will only know how many women have qualified for the road race by the UCI (International Cycling Union) on June 1. The federation will then wait for Sascoc to make the final South African team announcement on July 14.
Cycling SA president William Newman said: “On behalf of the executive and management committees, we congratulate Daryl Impey and Louis Meintjes and wish them well with their preparations as we lead in to the final stretch ahead of the Rio Olympic Games. We look forward to the next team announcement from SASCOC.”