SA CHAMP
added pressure that comes with it. It
was an important shift for me and it
also showed the team I was up to the
task of being a leader.”
An impressive season ensued,
with Daryl playing a critical part in
Mitchelton-Scott’s victory at Hammer
Series Stavanger and its stage win and
points classifi cation victory in June’s
Critérium du Dauphiné. And then
came La Grande Boucle, otherwise
known as the Tour de France.
“I had ambitions for a stage
win there,” he sighs. “But a crash
unfortunately slowed me there.”
Which brings us to this season.
Now fi rmly established as one of
his team’s kingpins for key racing
targets, the 2019 edition of the Tour
Down Under was always going to be
a primary objective for Daryl. With no
designated sprinter to protect, all of
Mitchelton-Scott’s cards rested with
Daryl’s title defence.
He prepared well at home in
Johannesburg, “with one week in
Hazyview for some fi nishing touches”,
and travelled to Australia confi dent
of his form. Yet he still wasn’t rated
24 | TO U R
D E F R A NC E 2019
as an overwhelming favourite. “It
was all about Richie Porte and the
pure climbers in the media,” explains
Daryl. ”Right up until and during the
Willunga Hill stage. So I was over the
moon that I managed to pull off the
overall victory.”
With a dominant performance at
the South African National Road
Race Championship, Daryl’s 2019
season is panning out well. At the
time of writing, he was in the midst of
a less-than-stellar Ardennes Classics
campaign, by his own high standards
of course. But that is but a bump in the
road for the upbeat Daryl.
“I’ve just been to the doctor here
in Holland to have my hand x-rayed,”
he quipped. “I crashed in Flèche
Wallone, but nothing is broken! Just
a bit of swelling.
“You know, my career’s been a
real rollercoaster,” he continues.
“But I feel I’m in my best years as
a rider. To actually be in the front
group and contributing to the racing
compared to just hanging on to the
group – phew, it’s taken time. I’m
relishing the journey.” ●
ALL
ABOUT
ADAM
With
Mitchelton-
Scott having
evolved into
Grand Tour
contenders, it’s unsurprising to learn
that the Aussie squad are all in for
Adam Yates at this year’s edition of the
Tour de France. And while their Tour
lineup had yet to be announced when
we spoke, Daryl is under no illusion of
his specifi c role should he be selected.
“We’re there to help Adam win Le
Tour,” he says emphatically. “So our
fi rst major objective in the race will be
the team time trial in Brussels. If we
are able to win that, one of us would
obviously be in yellow. But the main
thing is that Adam could have a buff er
over some of his key rivals.”
And what about Daryl’s own
ambitions? “A stage win obviously,
but that would depend on where we
were at. But for sure, if the opportunity
presents itself, I’ll be going full gas to
try make it happen.”
SUNADA/PRESSE
Impey in the Rainbow
Jersey at last year’s Tour.
Right: Lift ing the Tour Down
Under trophy in Adelaide.