South Africa’s Devin Shortt said his victory at the El Trofeo Santiago in Spain on the weekend was a positive step towards being selected for the UCI Road World Championships in Bergen in September.
The 18-year-old, who has been in Spain since May, won the 86km race after he made an early move on the final climb.
“I made my move sooner than was planned because there were two riders in the lead group who were from the same team and I knew everybody would be waiting for them to make a move,” said Shortt.
“I decided to get ahead of everyone and started my final attack as we started the climb, rather than waiting for the final stretch.”
Devin Shortt celebrates winning the El Trofeo Santiago in Spain on the weekend. Photo: Alberto Brevers Gonzalez
His victory came soon after the three-stage Vuelta Al Besaya, where he finished fourth overall two weeks ago.
“I finished just seven seconds off a podium position and was one point behind the most consistent rider.”
With two notable achievements to his name in Spain, the youngster shows no sign of slowing down and remains determined to continue his good form as he heads to Italy and Portugal to meet up with the junior national team later this month.
“We have three more tours this month and my immediate goal is to do well when we race in Portugal.”
Shortt first appeared on the international scene in 2014 when he spent four weeks in Belgium. He returned a year later, this time spending seven weeks.
His performance there gave rise to his selection for the national team and in 2016 he donned South African colours for the first time.
His first UCI event was the GP Général Patton in Luxembourg, where he finished 50th on GC and top South African.
He improved by more than 30 places to finish 16th in his second race, the La Route des Géants, which ended in France.
Shortt, who is sponsored by Disgarsa during his time in Spain, will ride for the Maurizio Fondriest junior team in Italy, an opportunity he said provided a chance to continue his education.
“Riding with all these different teams has given me a chance to learn some great skills, especially when it comes to my descents. This has been a major learning curve.
“Back home we don’t have the climbs they have here, but I’ve been surprised at what I’ve been able to do here,” said the Cape Town resident.
Inspired by his father, former professional cyclist Terence Shortt, the all-rounder said he hoped to notch up a few more wins during his time overseas in the hope of catching the eye of Dimension Data’s feeder team.
“It’s a dream of mine to be signed by them, hopefully do well and continue up to the World Tour team.”
