Following the withdrawal of Daryl Impey from the Tokyo Olympics due to an injury sustained in a finish-line crash in May’s Route del Sol, Cycling South Africa and SASCOC have announced the inclusion of Stefan de Bod to the Team South Africa squad. De Bod will be representing South Africa in the brutal, climber-friendly road race on 24 July and the hilly individual time trial on 28 July.
The 24-year-old’s inclusion in the Olympic squad follows the announcement earlier this week that de Bod will also be racing in his first Tour de France for his Astana-Premiertech trade team, along with fellow Olympic teammate Nicholas Dlamini (Qhubeka-NextHash).
READ MORE Olympic Cycling Squad Announcement
Dlamini is the all-rounder with a good kick, de Bod is good against the clock and in the mountains, and Ryan Gibbons (UAE-Emirates) is a fast finisher who can handle himself on the climbs. The combination, while a small team, has significant experience at World Tour level. The trio will have to use the bigger national teams to their advantage to race clever on the day.