The South African national road cycling team headed north for the Tour of Eritrea last week and Myles van Musschenbroek said many of the teams seemed to be struggling to adapt in the north-eastern African country.
“I’ve been quite ill for the past few days and I wasn’t even sure if I would be able to start the tour,” he said.
The 24-year-old started the first stage but said he battled to finish within the allocated time as he fought his way through the race.
Pictured here in the yellow jersey at the Tour of Good Hope, Myles van Musschenbroek said he had been unsure if he would start the Tour of Eritrea as he had been struggling to adapt to the riding conditions in Eritrea. Photo: Robert Ward
“The Italians, Dutch and the Germans have, like us, been struggling with the heat and the conditions but have also just been riding through it as best they can.
“Luckily everyone seems to be adjusting more and more as the tour goes on.”
Making his debut for the national team, Van Musschenbroek said he had been impressed by the level of riding in the competition.
“I’ve been looking at the watts I’ve been riding at just to keep up with the bunch – it is way higher than what I’ve been pushing at home,” said the Rosebank resident from Johannesburg.
“Here the level of racing is definitely a step above that back in South Africa.
“Although it’s tough I think it’s good for us, we have to up our game and really fight to keep up with everyone else here.”
Having ridden in both the Fenkil Northern Red Sea Challenge and the Massawa Circuit in the build up to the tour, Van Musschenbroek said the Eritrean national team were the strongest competition in the field.
The local team have consistently placed in the top three in each of these races, including the first two stages of the Tour of Eritrea.
Heading in to the last three stages of the tour, Van Musschenbroek said he hoped today’s third stage would prove to be more favourable for him and his teammates.
“We’ll see how it goes, obviously all of us will be going to get a win.”
After the initial two stages, the South African team is sitting in sixth place for the general classification.
Read more about Van Musschenbroek’s experience in Eritrea here.
