Nicholas Dlamini’s dream journey from a shack in the township of Cape Town to becoming the first black South African to ride in the Tour de France gathered momentum this week when he joined Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka’s World Tour team.
Dlamini, who was raised in the Capricorn settlement in Muizenburg, began riding just nine years ago and is regarded as the next “big thing” to come out of Africa.
“It’s really an amazing feeling to finally be part of our World Tour team,” said Dlamini, who will be a stagiaire with the World Tour team until the end of the season and will be a part of the squad for 2018.
The 21-year old has made the most of the opportunities in his career thus far. Four years ago he was challenging experienced professionals in the Cape Rouleur in the Western Cape, while in June, he won the King of the Mountains category at the under-23 Giro d’Italia, a first for an African.
In June, the ambitious young rider made headlines when he triumphed at the U23 Giro d’Italia, earning himself the King of the Mountains (KOM) title. Last February, he placed second behind Stefan de Bod in the U23 category at the SA National Road Championships in Wellington.
“Happiness to me is cycling. It’s brought me to where I am now,” says the pedaling prodigy from Cape Town’s Capricorn Park near Muizenberg, an area rife with unemployment, violence, drugs and gangsterism. He lives with his mother (for a long time the family’s sole breadwinner), his twin sister and two other siblings. That’s when he’s not in Lucca, Italy, where the continental team is based during the cycling season, mainly following the European seasonal calendar.
“It was hard not having the resources I need to hone my skills but it didn’t stop me. I never stopped believing in myself. It has taken and still takes guts but it’s worth all the sweat and tears.”
Dlamini has been supported by a series of mentors from Sipho Mona of Velokhaya, the Khayelitsha cycling organisation, the JAG Foundation, Vanessa Sandes, the actress and model, and her husband, Ryan, the ultra-distance trail runner, Sven Thiele of Hot Chillee Events, JP van Zyl of the UCI’s Africa development hub, Ben Swift, the British Olympian and world champion, Laureus Sport for Good organisation, and, through his foundation, by Elton John, the legendary pop singer.
Listen as Doug Ryder, team principal of Team Dimension Data, sings the praises of his young future star.
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