Carmen Buchacher, whose move to Team dormakaba SA was confirmed last month, is determined to be at her best when she starts competing for her new team.
“The move will benefit my cycling career, but it’s a process and it will require hard work,” Buchacher said on Tuesday.
“I have to make it work in my favour and I’m looking forward to see new doors opening. I’m very excited to become a part of dormakaba.
“I want to work hard, play fair and maintain a good social responsibility.”
Carmen Buchacher is determined to shine for Team dormakaba SA in the 2018 season. Photo: Supplied
Her move to dormakaba came after she and Michelle Vorster had won the 369km Desert Dash early in December.
Talking about the important change in her career, the Cape Town cyclist said she had spoken to dormakaba SA managing director Shaun Frayne at the Cape Pioneer Trek in October.
“We began on very chatty terms,” she recalled. “I didn’t have any intentions of riding for dormakaba, but after getting to know him better, I asked about the team he was planning to set up for the 2018 Cape Epic.”
She didn’t expect much of a response, but “his feedback was very positive and promising.
“Shaun gets right down to business and that’s the way I also like to work. I make decisions with care and after a lot of thought.”
Soon after that conversation she received a “superb” sponsorship offer.
“The move is a great platform on which to base my career. I will mostly team up with Samantha Sanders, but we’ll also race against each other in the single races.
“We are still individual athletes and have very different personalities. This is great as it creates diversity within the team,” she added.
Buchacher will compete for the first time in dormakaba colours at the Attakwas Extreme MTB Challenge on January 20.
