ATHLETE INFORMATION: Martin WESEMANN
DATE OF BIRTH: 19 Mar 1984
HOMETOWN: Hout Bay – Western Cape – SOUTH AFRICA
LIVES IN: Johannesburg – Gauteng – SOUTH AFRICA
BIRTHPLACE: Cape Town – Western Cape – SOUTH AFRICA
CYCLING HISTORY: Started competitive cycling at 22 years old
TEAMS: MTN Club 100, Sotheby’s Cosmetek, CPI Investments/CWC, Kings North International
GREATEST ATHLETIC STRENGTHS: Time Trial and endurance racing
PERFORMANCE PHILOSOPHY: Never ever give up
FAVOURITE MUSIC: Greenday; Kings of Leon; Red Hot Chilli Peppers; ACDC and The Killers
FAVOURITE MOVIES: Anchorman; The Hangover; Lock Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels; ACE Ventura Pet Detective and Snatch
BEST PRE-RACE MEAL: Spaghetti Bolognaise
RACE DAY TIP: Stay at the front!
BIOGRAPHY: Martin grew up in Hout Bay near Cape Town. He was interested in sports from a young age and enjoyed cross country, biathlons, sailing and rock climbing. He first began cycling when he was a student at the University of Cape Town. One of his friends convinced him to ride the Cape Argus. He borrowed a mountain bike, managed to get a substitution number and finished the race without having trained at all. Although his lack of preparation made for much suffering after the race, Martin knew that he wanted to ride again the following year, this time with training. The Cape Argus approached again and he trained for just two weeks beforehand, but enjoyed the race far more. The bug had bitten and there was no turning back.
Martin bought a secondhand bike and started doing league races. In his first race he placed second and finished the season in third place overall. He trained whenever he could, sometimes at 4am in the morning so that he could be at work by 8am. He won the Western Province Time Trial in 2008 and 2009 and won the Cape Town League twice. In 2009 he competed in Beijing and was selected to ride for South Africa in Spain in 2010. He joined the Kings North International Team for six months in Belgium, where he won his first international race – Westkappelle. When he returned to South africa, he was awarded a spot on the MTN-Qhubeka team.
TWITTER:
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
- 1st – Deutche Bank Tour of Mauritius – 2011
- 5th – Tour de Maroc – Morocco – 2011
- 1st – Gauteng North Championships – South Africa – 2011
- 1st – Westkappelle – Belgium – 2010
- Selected – South Africa National Team – Spain & Beijing – 2010
