Odette Van Deventer (18) and Bernette Beyers (23) are two of South Africa’s track cycling talents. Both have national titles and also won medals at the 2015 African Continental Championships. They are hungry to progress further and did not hesitate to accept an invitation to train at the UCI World Cycling Centre in Aigle, Switzerland, for three months.
Surprisingly, it is the younger of the two who has the most experience. Odette took up the sport at the age of 10, when her track cyclist father bought her a track bike. It was fast, it was exciting, and the young Odette never looked back. Already successful as a Junior, in her first year as an Elite this year, she took South Africa’s national Elite Women’s title in the 500m and went on to medal at the African Continental Championships, including gold in the team sprint.
Bernette, on the other hand, only began track cycling in January this year, a few weeks before competing in the Western Cape Track Cycling Championships which went “pretty well.” Two months later, in the South African Championships, the newcomer came away with one gold medal and five silver medals, including in the time trial behind Odette.
“She was like a kind of whack in the head,” laughs Odette. “All of a sudden this person rises out of nowhere and nearly takes my time trial title from me. But it’s good to have competition. You can’t expect to get better without that.”
It could have been the start of a bitter rivalry, but instead it laid the foundations of a solid friendship and collaboration. The two young women met up again at a Grand Prix event in Durban in July, and are now training together for three months at the UCI World Cycling Centre in Aigle, Switzerland.
South Africa’s first female track cyclists to train at the UCI WCC are determined to make the most of the environment, the expert coaching advice and the top quality facilities.
“We want to develop our cycling and be competitive overseas,” explains Bernette, who has already lowered her time for 200m from 12.62 to 11.69 in her eight weeks in Switzerland.
Her training companion explains: “The track cycling community in South Africa is small. We want to get stronger and perform at a higher level. We have already improved so much. Our times are proving that.”
Their immediate goal is the South African Track Cycling Championships in January. However, in their six weeks remaining in Switzerland they want to continue their progression in order to gain points that could earn them starting spots in high-level international competitions such as the UCI Track Cycling World Cup. They have a very real desire to form a strong and formidable partnership for the team sprint, but for the moment are concentrating on building strength and speed.
UCI WCC coach Miguel Torres Martin is highly satisfied with their progress: “They are showing significant improvements since they arrived and are succeeding along the short term goals we are setting in different training phases. After eight weeks we have observed large improvements in their technique, strength, power profiles and overall form, both at the gym and on the track.
“We have been focusing on their adaptation to a professional training routine, improving their overall technique and constructing the strength base to introduce the next specific training blocks.”
The two athletes in question are looking forward to continuing their progression: “We’re developing our skills but there is still so much more we can do,” says Odette, who has delayed her final school year to devote herself to cycling.
She is loving life at the UCI World Cycling Centre.
“You wake up, you eat, you train, you eat, you train. You don’t have to worry about or think about anything else.”
Back home in Pretoria Odette trains on an outdoor track “with plants growing out of it,” while Bernette claims that the indoor track she uses in Capetown houses more birds than cyclists.
In Aigle they feel spoilt by the facilities and equipment at their disposal.
“The structure here works really well,” says Bernette. “The coaches are great and so is the equipment, the bikes, the velodrome...”
During their stay, they are travelling twice to Great Britain to take part in the Manchester and Glasgow rounds of the Revolution Series. The racing experience will arm them well for the South African Championships and then the African Continental Championships.
“I am confident that they will arrive at the African Championships very competitive,” says Miguel Torres Martin.
That’s just as well, because Bernette Beyers has a warning: “I’m not a good loser…”