Nicholas Dlamini has his arm broken by South African authorities and is ruled out of the 2020 Tour Down Under
Consecutive Tour Down Under champion Daryl Impey is appalled at the way South African authorities arrested and broke fellow countryman Nicholas Dlamini’s arm.
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South African Nicholas Dlamini having his arm broken by authorities and missing the Santos Tour Down Under after creating history in South Australia in 2018 has caused global outrage.
Dlamini was the first known South African representing the people of Capricorn Park settlement near Muizenberg in the city of Cape Town to wear the King of the Mountain jersey at a WorldTour – and it happened at the Tour Down Under in 2018 before he returned this year.
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Dlamini had surgery on the weekend in a Cape Town hospital after his arm was broken by Table Mountain National Park officials in his homeland.
The incident incensed reigning Tour Down Under consecutive champion Mitchelton-Scott’s South African Daryl Impey and Kenyan born four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome from Team INEOS.
Nic didnt deserve this . What a shame @SANParks . You should be very ashamed of yourselves. https://t.co/5UpCfU8Zb6
— Daryl Impey (@darylimpey) December 27, 2019
“Nic didn’t deserve this,” Impey tweeted.
What a shame @SANparks (South African national parks).
“You should be very ashamed of yourselves.”
Wtf @TableMountainNP @SANParks @VanHaywood. Someone just broke Nic Dlamini’s arm pic.twitter.com/oYQGiTNUPM
— Lawrence Lindeque (@larrymontana) December 27, 2019
Fellow cyclist Donovan Le Cok shot a video of the altercation between Dlamini – an NTT Pro Cycling team gun – and park officials after they reportedly detained the 24-year-old for riding through the park without official consent.
Dlamini almost two years ago made his UCI WorldTour debut at the Tour Down Under riding for Dimension Data where he also made a huge impact.
He claimed the polka dot jersey at stage 1 and 2 before claiming the overall king of the mountain jersey.
This is what @SANParks officials have done to a potential Olympic athlete’s arm. @nich_dlamini WAS possibly going to be THE 1ST BLACK SOUTH AFRICAN to take part in the Tour de France you stupid assholes!!!!!!!! @CyrilRamaphosa @MbalulaFikile pic.twitter.com/lLS1EStpYK
— Vanessa Sandes (@VanHaywood) December 27, 2019
In 2017, Dlamini won the mountains classification at the Giro Ciclistico D’Italia — a world class under-23 event — and a first win for an African.
“I came from a small town outside of Cape Town and I’m grateful to get this opportunity with the world’s best cyclists,’’ Dlamini told The Advertiser in 2018.
“I started on the bike when I was 12 actually and I joined a small cycling club that year and they just gave me a bike and kit and I didn’t have to buy my own bike.
“I couldn’t afford it at the time.
“It was nice getting that and from there I kept on working hard and a couple of years later I was riding at another level.”
Originally published as Nicholas Dlamini has his arm broken by South African authorities and is ruled out of the 2020 Tour Down Under