Rohan du Plooy has enjoyed some notable successes on the road already this season, his first with the ProTouch Continental outfit.
The team gained Continental status last year and Du Plooy was delighted to join the fold. He has participated in two Africa Tour events this season, during which he has exceeded his expectations.
The goal of the team is to help restore South Africa to its position as the number one cycling nation in Africa and Du Plooy has embraced the opportunity to make a contribution.
He enjoyed five top-10 finishes at the Tropicale Amissa Bongo in Gabon in January against some world-class competition.
Then just last week the 24-year-old won the sprinter’s jersey at the Tour du Rwanda.
ProTouch’s Rohan du Plooy enjoying his post-race celebrations in his blue sprinter’s jersey after the Tour du Rwanda last weekend. Photo: Tour du Rwanda
As a relatively big-built rider and with the Rwandan tour being predominantly a climber’s contest, Du Plooy admitted he was “very nervous” beforehand.
But his abilities shone through as he maximised his opportunities in the sprints.
“I have to be honest, I was very nervous to start the tour. Rwanda is known to have big and long climbs,” Du Plooy told In the Bunch today.
“It was like a GC [general classification] day every day. My only goal was to finish every stage within the time limit and support the team to the best of my ability.”
With GC ambitions not a factor, Du Plooy then discovered it was possible to target sprinting points on the tour by trying to be “the most consistent in the breakaways”.
“There was essentially no sprinting in the tour,” he said. “I told myself I had to keep getting into the breakaways for points and to focus on [taking it] climb by climb and sprint by sprint.
“So when I went into the break on the first stage I saw it as a blessing and then when I got into the break on the 213km stage [stage three] I shifted my focus fully to gain points every day.
“My teammates assisted me by marking my closest rivals. Once I got into the breaks I just had to do my job, and they believed in me.”
That was when Du Plooy realised he was capable of more than just playing a supporting role in an African tour. He could really help to contribute towards the team’s greater goal.
“We have done two UCI 2.1 tours so far this year as a team and we enjoyed success in both,” he said, referring to the Gabonese and Rwandan tours.
“We as a team are making good and positive strides towards achieving our goal. SA has not been racing on the African circuit for too long so it will still take [some] adapting from most of the riders.
“But it won’t be very long until we will be able to win on this level.”
Discussing race congestion, Du Plooy said he had been racing “full gas” since early January and was reaping success from the heavy schedule.
“I’m on 27 race days already this season, so my form is definitely good – maybe the best ever.
“My development as a cyclist has been progressing steadily over the last few seasons and this year with ProTouch has given me the opportunity to race in UCI events.
“That has given me a boost in confidence. This season has started really well for me and the team has supported me in every way possible.”
The Cape Town local now plans to prepare strictly for of the African Continental Road Champs in Ethiopia next week, before “refocusing and recharging my batteries” ahead of a full racing programme of UCI events as the season unfolds.
