As many of you would know, I had returned to South Africa in December 2008, in preparation for a solid racing season in 09. But this year appeared to get off to a shakey start with all the teams unable to sign new riders, or even think of developing youngsters like myself. Due to the current economic meltdown, sponsors of the various teams understandably got cold feet and started to withdraw from cycling. This left many riders high and dry with no team and not even minor sponsors. In fact, many of these riders are still unsigned...

I was in the same situation as mentioned, and thoughts of going home did creep into my mind, for fear of wasting money and time on what looked to be an unproductive year in cycling. But, as has been the case before; I was wrong. I had a meeting with Konica Minolta team manager, John Robertson and after almost 2 hours we started to gain some momentum in planning for the year ahead.

To cut a long story and several phone calls, drives, and more calls short.... I have been linked up with Fitness Innovation Technologies (FiT) and am now being sponsored all the supplements I need, from recovery to protein drinks. But the late Christmas didn't stop there. The manager of FiT then continued to sign me up to a local club to allow me to get my racing licence at no cost to me. I was then given all the cycling kit I could need for the next few thousand kilometres. It's all the little things that help!

Back to the meeting - John contacted a friend of his who runs the Konia Minolta team house, based in Kempton Park. He enquired as to whether there was space for a youngster to fit in, and hey... problem solved! I now live with a few of the team riders and also train with them, and several other top SA pro's who live nearby. So my accomodation, meals, supplements and licencing was all sorted out, and I moved into the house the following day!

I think the biggest thing I've learnt from the past week is to never give up. And if you do decide to quit... rather hang on for one more day and see what happens. Well I better get some sleep. I'm racing the Berge En Dale tomorrow which is a 98km event with a 6km climb starting only 4km into the race. I'm hoping to get into the break group on this climb, and pin it for the remaining 75km or so to the finish. I'll keep you all posted!