It is now established that future cycling champions mostly come from the junior category of 17-18-year-old boys. Such is the case of Nicholas Van Der Merwe, a South African boy with dual citizenship in Bulgaria.

"My father is South African, but my mother is Bulgarian, hence my South African and even Dutch-sounding name, considering Van Der is very common in the Netherlands," explains young Nicholas, who recently won the Junior Nations Time Trial in Les Herbiers, France. "I was born and raised in Midrand, South Africa. Three years ago, I moved to Bulgaria to live with my grandparents and changed my license to Bulgarian, making it easier to race in Europe".

Van Der Merwe made a name for himself at the Kigali World Championships (13th in the time trial) and the European Championships in France (8th in the time trial), and previously in European races where he performed well. He then secured a double victory in the Bulgarian championships (road and time trial) and, as mentioned, capped off his season with a beautiful win in the Nations Time Trial. Last year, he wore the U19 Academy Région Sud Powered by Giant jersey only twice. This season, he raced full-time with the French team and mostly lived in southern France.

"Hrysto Zaykov (the Bulgarian sports director of Martigues SC-Payden&Rygel) put me in touch with the Academy Region coach. It's a good team that races in all important events like Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Valromey Bugey, Cote d'Or, and others. I learned a lot racing at high levels and managed to achieve some great satisfactions. Now my name is quite well-known".

Van der Merwe has a massive physique. He is 186 centimeters tall, weighing 74 kilograms. Long and steep climbs are not his strength. What suits him best are long breakaways and routes for a fast-passer, and that's how he has obtained his best results. When away from the bike, he frequents the Bulgarian community in the city of Midrand, which has his Bulgarian school "Slancho".