South Africa’s Nicholas Dlamini said the team heads into tomorrow’s 168.3km Commonwealth Games road-race at the Currumbin Beachfront in Gold Coast with one goal in mind: to win a medal.
Dlamini, who won the King of the Mountains title at the Tour Down Under in Australia in January, believes the race is wide open.
“It will all come down to experience,” Dlamini told In the Bunch today. “It should depend on the depth within the various teams and how much each rider can endure.
“It is going to be a hard race, even though it isn’t that long. We will just see how it goes and roll with it.”
Nicholas Dlamini (right) standing alongside Team South African teammates from left: Nolan Hoffman, Clint Hendricks, Brendon Davids and Bradley Potgieter ahead of their Commonwealth Games road race tomorrow. Photo: Bosseau Boshoff
Teaming up with Nolan Hoffman, Clint Hendricks, Brendon Davids and Bradley Potgieter, Dlamini said they would support whoever had the best chance.
“If it comes down to a sprint we will help whoever is faster from our team,” he said.
“Nolan and Bradley can offer a lot of experience, so we can feed off them. We obviously want at least one rider in the breakaway and to save the strong guys for a bit later [in the race].
“We definitely want to walk away and return home with a medal. We are motivated and the [team] morale is high.”
Dlamini said they drew inspiration from compatriot Alan Hatherly’s bronze medal in the cross-country race yesterday.
“We are motivated and hyped after what he was able to achieve,” he said. “Hopefully everything goes according to plan for us.”
The field was strong, Dlamini said, but he felt the SA team stood a good chance of winning a medal.
“We also have a strong team down here and we are fully capable of slotting in a medal. We will just have to leave it all out there.”
He said the route is “tricky”. “There are a lot of corners and descents and a couple of kickers; there is a bit of everything,” Dlamini said.
“There is not one stretch that will have a five-minute effort. It [the race] will be hammer down, corner, then another corner, descent, then hammer down again.
“It is going to be fast, but I think we will just take it as it comes.”
Confidence would play a big part in the race, Dlamini said. “The form is good, but at the end of the day it will all come down to confidence.
“Personally I feel good for the race. It is all about going out there and giving it our all. It’s one of the major races I have been training for.”
Dlamini, who rides for the DiData World Tour team, expects Australia and New Zealand to pose the biggest challenges tomorrow.
“Australia is looking good; they have almost half of their Orica Green Edge [Mitchelton-Scott] team here.
“We saw them winning in the time-trial [on Wednesday]. They are the team to watch.
“The Kiwis will be good; they have a couple of strong riders. It is going to be touch-and-go out there.
“We will just have to see how it goes. I have been looking forward to this race. I arrived here a couple of days ago and training has been going well.
“Now it is just about putting it into application and seeing how it works out [tomorrow].”
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