WE GO AGAIN
KEVIN MCCALLUM: Wright’s win in Australian colours makes one wonder
Cycling SA is little help. South African cyclists’ own fortitude and belief gets the results
Cameron Wright still has traces of his South African accent, although it now has more of an Australian slur. He left the land of his birth at the age of 12 when his parents moved the family to Brisbane in 2012. Seven days ago, aged just 17, he was crowned the junior world champion at the UCI world championships in Cairns. He won for Australia. It shouldn’t sting to read that fact, but it does carry a sense of "dammit". Could Wright have been SA’s new world champion if he had stayed? Would he have developed into the rider he is now? In seventh place in the junior world championships was Matt Dinham, a South African now based in Sydney who grew up riding together with Wright. They idolised the late Burry Stander, who was killed when hit by a taxi while training in KwaZulu-Natal in January 2013. The death of the country’s greatest mountain biker of his generation left a hole in South African cycling that has seemed insurmountable. Stander won the under-23 world championships in Canberr...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.