Myles van Musschenbroek arrived with the rest of the South African national road cycling team in Asmara, Eritrea, on Wednesday.
When asked about their first experiences, the 24-year-old said they were facing some frustrating challenges.
Having landed a few days prior to their first race the team had to recover from their travels before they were able to head out for their first training session.
“We got in a nice three-and-a-half-hour pedal yesterday. It took us a while to find our way around since there is obviously no GPS signal or signal on our phones,” said Van Musschenbroek.
Myles van Musschenbroek, pictured in green at this year’s Bestmed Tour of Good Hope, talks about the logistical and other challenges ahead of the Tour of Eritrea. Photo: Robert Ward
After some trial and error due to bad signal and limited Wi-Fi, the team eventually made their way onto the main road.
No stranger to traffic, the Johannesburg native said the streets were very busy, filled with people and cars.
The apparent lack of safety regulations only added to the chaos, making the ride difficult.
“The traffic and everything is all free flowing which means we have to be on our toes and look out for ourselves a little bit.”
In terms of the terrain, he said the road surfaces were often quite tricky, filled with bumps and potholes.
According to Van Musschenbroek, the team were finding it difficult to cope with the high altitude and had taken some strain on the ride.
From Asmara, the team will head to a more manageable altitude as they head to the Fenkil Northern Red Sea Challenge that starts tomorrow.
“The altitude won’t be a problem there. We will be racing at sea level and the finish is at 900m above sea level,” said Van Musschenbroek.
He added that despite the initial difficulties over their first couple of days, the spirit of the team was high.
“We all know each other and we’re getting along well. We are very keen to start racing and we just need to take it one day at a time.”
On Sunday, the team will take part in the Massawa Circuit.
