Tour of Britain: South African Callum Ormiston hoping race will be springboard
'It's very difficult' Tour du Rwanda stage winner talks about situation with South African road cycling, makes the breakaway on day one.
Last year, Callum Ormiston had a season many could only dream of. A stage win in the biggest race on African soil, the Tour du Rwanda, and a ride for the South African squad at the Glasgow Worlds were the top of the mountain for the now 24-year-old.
Ormiston’s ambition though has always been to become a professional rider. The Global 6 United climber is hoping that the 2024 Tour of Britain will be his platform to present himself to team managers further up the chain. It’s a ‘second home’ race for him, with family living in England, and he’s planning to be active this week.
“I think I'd like to try and get in the breakaways and see if I can possibly get a KOM jersey, give that a go. A lot of ducks have to get in a row for that to happen, but we'll see what happens,” Ormiston told Global Peloton before the start of stage on in the Scottish Borders town of Kelso.
“I'll try and do what I can to hopefully get noticed and try and get something else for next year.”
Ormiston kept good to his word instantly, making the stage one breakaway with Julius Johansen (Sabgal - Anicolor Cycling Team) and local rider Callum Thornley (Trinity).
This year hasn’t quite carried the momentum of last, with bad luck and injury stalling his season. The Global 6 squad have also had a reduced programme in 2024, high profile events such as the Tours of Türkiye and Japan have been replaced by long breaks from competing, particularly in the second part of the year.
Ormiston is in his fourth year now as a Continental level rider, and 2024 has typified the ups-and-downs faced by cyclists at that level.
“I came in with a good mindset from the start [of the season]. I just knew going into Taiwan with the team, the first race of the calendar, I put in really good training. I felt super good and I think I would have had a decent result there if I wasn't for some bad luck on a descent,” Ormiston said.
“I was feeling quite good, then we went off to France still feeling really good. Things started to go downhill, I was involved in a crash there and I think I fractured my ribs. I never went for scans or anything but maybe a month ago I stopped feeling it, so it took a while to go away. I went straight into the next race, maybe I shouldn't have, maybe I should have taken a bit more time to recover.”
“It's crucial to try and race as much as possible, but it's maybe not a good idea in the end, but what can you do really. Cont life, maybe it looks better sometimes from the outside, but it's not an easy life.”
South Africa is a nation of conflicting fortunes in cycling at the moment. At the top, there are the likes of Ashleigh Moolman Pasio, Ryan Gibbons and Louis Meintjes racing at the highest level. At the other end is a dearth of investment in the development of road cycling.
Speaking to Global Peloton before his second Tour de France a few weeks ago, Ryan Gibbons said: “I'm worried about the state of South African cycling and I do worry that once I retire, once Louis retires, once Stefan De Bod retires, I think there's going to be a big period where we don't see a South African jersey or a South African flag next to a name on the start list of a race.”
It’s a sentiment shared by Ormiston, who is one of a few riders from the nation riding at Continental level in Europe. He was given his start by the now defunct South African-registered Pro Touch team.
“There's guys that are trying to come through. There's a few guys riding at club level in Spain, but there's not a lot. The guys that do it have to do it all by themselves and there’s not any good funding to do that.”
“It's very difficult, there's no Pro Touch anymore. There's nothing bringing riders this side of the world anymore. It's not looking good. The road scene in South Africa is not looking good either.”
“I think gravel racing is playing a part, but in terms of riders coming through, it's not looking good at all. There's a few guys riding with Conti teams, like myself, but it's not a lot.”
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