Tamijo wrote:
Those reporters

DiCyc wrote:
Reporters just looking after a good headline

Jakstar22 wrote:
Just read through and I really like it!! It looks like a great idea! Good luck with this mate!!

Ian Butler wrote:
Interesting way into the story. It might be a little bit too extreme but it serves the story right and I guess we're in France so anything goes

Not a great start for his career media wise. And as we know, the media can really make your life miserable. He'll need to work thrice as hard to get the right contacts now.

Croatia14 wrote:
You know I love it, the right way to tense it up!

jandal7 wrote:
Interesting! Damn journalists always doing stuff like that. Really hooked now, will be following closely

To say that the newspaper interivew had ruined any stagaire hopes was an understatement. Europcar, who would be changing to Direct Energie in 2016, had distaced themselves from any connection to me, and so had Cofidis. Bretagne–Séché, also changing their name for 2016 to Fortuneo–Vital Concept, would only look at options for me now from the beginning of the year. August was out of the questions...

All could do was concentrate on the races I had planned before the end of the amateur season. There was just 3 months left, and I was in good shape. My thought was simple - keep doing what I am doing and it will all work out in the end. Three teams pulling their interest was not the end of the world.

The last 3 months of the season ended strongly. The legs felt good, and as my rivals went off to join the pro ranks as stagaires, the size of victory over the others remaining got even bigger. I was confident that I could put the interview and the fall out from it behind me.

Ahead of my final race of the season, I got my first concrete offer of a professional ride n 2016. Surprisingly it came from Australia, in the form of the Drapac Cycling Team. They had a team of some great young talents, and wanted to add me to the ranks as a leader during their European races. It was very tempting. A week later, I had a phone call from the Wilier Triestina team in Italy and then another call from UnitedHealthcare Team in the USA.

I was flattered by the interest, especially when it was coming from outside of France. Each of them had their strengths, each had their weaknesses, so it was a case of sitting down and seeing which would benefit my career the most.

I had a big decision to make...

DiCyc wrote:
Drapac sounds like a good team even though it would be better to start with a French team

tsmoha wrote:
Drapac of course!

emre99 wrote:
Willier will be better to be in the european soil.

Ian Butler wrote:
Great write-up!
Drapac would be amazing

Tamijo wrote:
I think I would go with Wilier Triestina, but any of thise offers seems fine, so could just chose the best pay.

sutty68 wrote:
I would certainly consider Wilier Triestina

Croatia14 wrote:
yeah I like Willier Triestina as the choice too

Selwink wrote:
I quite like the direction where this story seems to be heading. Not sure what's the best choice for a transfer, Wilier seems a bit dodgy and the other two teams a bit weak. It'll be interesting to see where you'll end up.

I was all ready to sign on the dotted line for Wilier Triestina when I received a call from Doug Ryder, the manager of Dimension Data for Qhubeka. My performances rather than my media interviews had caught both his and his scout's eyes, and he wanted me to sign for his South African team for 2016. He had everything planned out, my target races, my development with the team and where he saw my future in a good couple of years. His call had given me a dilemma...

Essentially, I had given my word to Wilier that would become part of their Italian outfit for the new season, and a contract had been sent out to me to make everything official. My decision other than signing that contract was no doubt going to piss them off...

But Dimension Data was World Tour and I had a chance to take my riding to the next level with them. They had a good blend of youth and experience, and the chance to ride with some their riders was too much of a good thing to turn down.

Within 48 hours, I had everything signed and I was a World Tour rider!