At a function held in Rivonia, Johannesburg, last week the long awaited announcement was made that Ronel van Wyk is back on the road with a bulked up and complete array of sponsors.

Bionic has been sponsoring Ronel for a few months, but now a few new guys are on the block, headed up by Thabiso New Technologies.

Ronel raked in seven 1st positions, two 2nd positions, one 3rd place and a second in the SA Time Trial Championship, on her way to becoming the SA National Road Champion.

Subsequently she continued her form into the provincial track championships, and won the Olympic Sprint title, the Points Race and finished second in the Individual Pursuit.

Ronel will now take part in the National Track Championships at the end of April, where she last year earned National Colours as well.

Ronel is excited about her future and feels that she has turned the corner with her level of cycling. “I have ridden well in the past, but now I want to up my cycling to the next level.

“It is very important for me to become more scientific in my approach to cycling, and to look at what I need to do to achieve my next level of goals. I want to compete on the international stage, and through my new approach I believe I can do so,” says Ronel.

“I have also realised that many aspects of ladies cycling require a new level of professionalism, and in working with (manager) Glenn Lottering, I believe that I can become an asset for ladies cycling in South Africa.”

In the launch presentation it was clear that the loss of Ronel to Liberty Cycling has become the gain of Thabiso/Bionic. There is a new approach to her cycling and she is clearly enjoying the new relationship.

Nick Katsapas, managing director of Bionic says: “The association with Ronel is an absolute pleasure as she has a very amicable persona, and she is a lovely person to be around.

“We are new to sponsoring a cyclist, and we have been pleased to get to this point within the cycling community with Ronel. Bionic’s quality product range can be directly demonstrated through her results shown thus far. We look forward to our products being exposed to athletes in the endurance sports arena.”

Bertus van den Heever, managing director of Thabiso, says, “We were not even considering sponsoring any lady cyclist a month or two ago, but Ronel has shown tremendous exposure for Bionic, and we wanted a piece of that action.

“I find Ronel not just to be a professional athlete but even more so a very professional person. She is always well prepared and in today’s business climate, Ronel is a breath of fresh air to us businessmen. Thabiso is excited about our association with Ronel.”

Ronel is clearly feeling confident about her cycling prospects for the year, and has made it clear that she intends to take her cycling up a notch.

* Thabiso and Bionic are proud sponsor Ronel in conjunction with co-sponsors Cervelo, ExpertOnline, Adidas, Panda, Giro, Chainwheel, CycleSure and Continental.