Teenager Damon Fouchee, having recently joined the OfficeGuru set-up, is hoping to learn from new teammate Marc Pritzen.
Fouchee, who showed much promise last year while mixing it up with the elites in various races, signed with the team after his former outfit, Vandergroup, folded due to lack of sponsorship.
Last weekend Pritzen, 19, was crowned the South African national under-23 road champ. This came after he had only been cycling for three years, just one of them on the tarmac.
Damon Fouchee (pictured) has recently joined OfficeGuru ahead of the 2019 season and hopes to learn a lot from new teammate Marc Pritzen. Photo: Nicky Lindeque Photography
Fouchee, 17, said he was inspired by Pritzen’s achievement, especially considering their narrow age gap.
“Marc is quite young and the path he has walked until now, and what he has achieved for his age, is quite big,” Fouchee told In the Bunch today.
“[Last year] he rode with Nolan Hoffman and Steven van Heerden [for BCX] so he has seen and experienced a lot.
“He knows the game quite well and I feel I can learn a great deal from him.
“He’s young but with his experience I can learn the same from him as from Dylan [Girdlestone] and Travis [Stedman].”
The team offered Fouchee a lifeline to join their fold. They phoned his father Andre to say they had a vacancy in their junior ranks.
Fouchee will take part in his first official race in the team’s colours at the Ride for Sight in Boksburg this weekend.
He said he had settled into the team with ease, having competed with or against some of the other junior riders since they were all under-16 in the youth category.
“I’m very excited to be a part of a junior team again. I believe I can add great value to them.
“I hope to put in my best performances throughout this season, not just for myself but also for my teammates. Then I’d like to learn as much as possible from the elites.”
The other riders in the junior fold are Aidan Geary, Keagan van Wyk, Kyle Swanepoel and Jarod Havenga.
Ahead of the Ride for Sight this weekend Fouchee said the team still had to formulate a plan but he expected the juniors to play a supporting role for the elite riders.
