Twenty-year-old Travis Barrett went through an array of emotions after winning the Cape Town Cycle Tour for the first time yesterday.
Travis Barrett, 20, is still in shock after claiming his first Cape Town Cycle Tour title yesterday. Photo: Tobias Ginsberg
A hair’s breadth separated the talented OfficeGuru rider, who placed sixth overall in the Tour of Good Hope on Saturday, and Bike Aid’s Clint Hendricks.
“I can’t really put into words the emotions I felt as soon as I crossed the finish line,” said Barrett.
“It was kind of a mix of pure joy as well as disbelief. It felt surreal and I had to keep asking myself if I had really just won.
“If somebody had told me the morning before the race that I was going to win that day I would never have believed them and would have said they were crazy.
“I’ve always dreamed of one day winning the Cycle Tour. But for it to become a reality was something I didn’t expect, especially so early in my career.”
He said the last week had been tiring physically and mentally, after racing for five days in the Tour of Good Hope and then ending with the Cycle Tour.
“The last 24 hours have also been quite tiring emotionally, especially with all the excitement and adrenaline after yesterday’s win.”
Barrett felt this first title was extremely important to him personally because it was a reflection of how hard work and sacrifices always paid off eventually, and also showed him that anything was possible if you set your mind to it.
“Also being able to have the victory behind my name is extremely valuable for my career as it’s such a well-known event worldwide and hopefully gives me and the team some good recognition.”
He said during the race they knew that if the team wanted to get a good result they would have to make the race extremely hard, especially up Chapman’s Peak and Suikerbossie to eliminate as many of the fast sprinters as possible.
“Once we were in the final 15km with a more select group of riders I knew I had a good chance of perhaps getting a top-three, but with the quality of riders in the group I knew it would be extremely difficult to win it.
“Even if I wanted to achieve a podium result I was going to have to race extremely smart.”
Barrett felt Bizaye Redae was a rider who stood out for him yesterday.
“He’s a junior who showed very good form during last week’s tour. He wasn’t afraid to go on the attack up some of the climbs and raced very offensively with the elite and U23 riders, which is always good to see.”
He added that the Cycle Tour always attracted a strong field of local and international riders because of its prestige.
“ProTouch brought a strong team who recently rode extremely well in the Tour of Rwanda, and Clint showed some really good form after doing some international racing too.
“Jaco Venter and Jacques Janse van Rensburg also rode really well the previous week, so I knew they were a force to be reckoned with.”
Barrett said the win was definitely dedicated to his teammates, without whom it would not have been possible.
“I really want to thank them for all of the help yesterday and this past week. They believed in me and had my back and none of this would have been possible without them.
“A special mention goes to our captain Dylan Girdlestone for all of his help and to Alexander Worsdale for burying himself for me in that final kilometre.
“I would also like to dedicate the win to my family who have given me nothing but unconditional support and have allowed me to chase my dreams.
“I want to say a massive thank-you to Jamie Taylor for all he has done for the team, and for investing in our dreams. Without his support who knows where we would be.”
Barrett said the past three weeks had been a huge confidence boost for him and made him look forward to what he and the team could achieve in the year ahead.
“Next I will be racing in the African Continental Road Championships in Mauritius alongside one of my teammates, JP Lloyd, which I’m really looking forward to.”
The Tour of Good Hope stage winner also had some advice for those keen to follow in his footsteps.
“I think the best bit of advice to anyone who wants to one day win the Cycle Tour is to never stop working hard and to know that the sky is the limit.
“If you set goals for yourself and stay dedicated to them anything is possible.”
