Same team, but new sponsors – we chat to Calvin Beneke about the new Team BCX and their participation in the Tour of Good Hope, kicking off on Monday.
1. How did the launch of the newly named Team BCX go on Sunday?
The launch was very exciting and very professional. It’s great to be a part of a team that has such a cool set up and staff behind us. It went smoothly and everyone was excited.
New team launch with Calvin Beneke (Team BCX). Photo: Twitter/@TeamBCX/@CalvinBeneke
2. The team changes every year, what does this new sponsorship mean for you as a rider?
BCX is a part of Telkom, so for us it means it’s still the same people in charge but it’s also a new relationship as well. We are starting afresh in new colours so it’s almost a restart with extra motivation.
It’s more exciting and it means that there’s people out there that like our sport and are interested in supporting us. They understand what it takes to be a sportsman and what dedication and sacrifices are needed.
We achieved a good result with the Herald Cycle Tour yesterday but it’s all a team effort and we display that with just achieving victory so yes the pressure is on us but so far we’ve been able to handle it.
3. Having this new start with BCX, what are the goals for this year, both for you and the team?
My personal goal is the Tour of Good Hope coming up now, that’s one of my small goals. For the team goals it would be the Cape Town Cycle Tour, that’s a big race for us so we’ll definitely try and achieve there.
So for the next couple of weeks it’s the Tour of Good Hope and the Cape Town Cycle Tour.
4. Having had success at the Herald Cycle Tour recently, what is the attitude going into the Tour of Good Hope?
Our attitude towards the racing, because we’re a new team, we’re starting to gel, to find each other and know how to race with each other so that’s a little bit of a process.
We will definitely try attack it with a force to win, so that’s the main goal, to go in there with the right attitude and the right motivation. If that’s there then we should be up there in contention, if not first then second.
5. We know that BCX is a new team, and as a new team there is always room for improvement. Where would you like to see improvements?
I’m new to the team, I’m a new signing so I wouldn’t be able to answer exactly but I think we must just take it step by step and if we do make mistakes, to learn from them.
Of course we’d always like to go bigger, and at the moment we are quite a big team in local South Africa so we must just carry on building relationships with each other and move forward. I wouldn’t like to get stuck, I would like to move forward always. Progression is always the best.
6. After the Tour of Good Hope you will be riding in the Cape Town Cycle tour, what is your strategy going in to that race?
We definitely have a favourite in our team but there are also other guys who can pull of victories. We’ll see what works best there, we’ll take the best advice and try make the best decisions because we’d definitely want to take victories there, it’s the biggest race in South Africa so we have to play our cards correctly and hopefully it will be a good outcome.
