CAMPENAERTS WELCOMES DECISION TO POSTPONE TOKYO 2020
NTT Pro Cycling’s time trial specialist, Victor Campenaerts, has welcomed the decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee to postpone the Olympic Games.
Campenaerts, 28, was working towards earning a spot on Team Belgium, with the final selection due to take place over the coming months.
On Tuesday, a joint statement from the IOC and the organisers, saw the Games now postponed “beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021" due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I don’t think that it’s a surprise for anybody that they’ve postponed the Tokyo Olympic Games. I think it’s a good decision, the only one that the organisers could really take. There were rumours about the Olympics taking place in November or December but I think that would be really to strange to have a summer Olympics in the winter,” said Campenaerts.
“I think this is the best decision if you consider the bigger picture, which for now is greater than just the sporting world, and it’s good that they make that call right now. It’s important for those athletes who put so much into their planning and preparation for the showpiece.
“For me personally, as a cyclist, there’s plenty of opportunity to shine so as it is already been a very strange season, and it will be a really strange season going forward, it’s no big deal.
“But for my girlfriend (swimmer Fanny Lecluyse) this is a really strange time. She has already been selected so will she now be selected for next year’s Olympics? Will she have to qualify again?
“She was planning to retire after these Olympic Games and as we know swimming is not necessarily one that financially as lucrative as some others, so for her it’s not such good news.”
Campenaerts also recently featured in the latest episode of NTT Pro Cycling’s ‘UnClipped’ podcast.
In it, he talks about his personal background and how he came into the sport, what an Olympic medal would mean to him and also how he manages to deal with disappointment that as a professional could manifest in some form of “depression”.
You can follow the link for full details on how to listen to that, here: https://bit.ly/3dtIMG4
About NTT Pro Cycling
Founded in 2007, NTT Pro Cycling (formerly Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka) became the first-ever African cycling team to gain a WorldTour license, in 2016. With the support of our headline sponsor and technology innovation partner, NTT, we are the most purpose-driven, performance-led, and technology-enabled team in pro cycling today.
Our ambition is to continue to race at the highest levels in world cycling, to develop riders to realise their full potential and to inspire and motivate people across the African continent to ride bicycles.
We have bases in South Africa, Denmark, the Netherlands and Italy.
We also ride to raise awareness for Qhubeka, a global charity operating in South Africa, through our #BicyclesChangeLives campaign.
The hands on the back of the team race jersey are a reminder that every Qhubeka bicycle is a helping hand up to a beneficiary, which are provided through Qhubeka's learn-to-earn and work-to-earn programmes
About Qhubeka
Qhubeka is a charity that moves people forward with bicycles. People earn bicycles through our programmes, improving their access to schools, clinics and jobs.
A bicycle is a tool that helps people to travel faster and further, and to carry more. In the face of extreme and persistent poverty, bicycles can change lives by helping to address socioeconomic challenges at the most basic level – helping people to get where they need to go.
About NTT Ltd.
NTT Ltd. is a global technology services company bringing together the expertise of leaders in the field, including NTT Communications, Dimension Data and NTT Security. We partner with organizations around the world to shape and achieve outcomes through intelligent technology solutions. For us, intelligent means data driven, connected, digital and secure. As a global ICT provider, we employ more than 40,000 people in a diverse and dynamic workplace and deliver services in over 200 countries and regions. Together we enable the connected future.
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