From the community of Bloemfontein to mountains of Switzerland.
“Hallo Oom, ek het ’n oproep van Q36.5 gekry en hulle stel belang om my te help as ’n guest rider vir hulle ontwikkelling span.“ (English translation - Hello Uncle, I had a call from Q36.5 and they are interested to have me go over to be a guest rider for the development team). This is the phone call we received from Adian Claassen - probably the politest, well mannered and friendly 18 year old you will meet until he is on the bike when he transforms into a fierce competitor driven to succeed.
Being based in Bloemfontein you would think he would be isolated but the saying “it takes a village” is true testament to what Adian has achieved as a cyclist. The community have rallied around Adian to aid in his success from longstanding support structures Enduroplanet Bike Shop ensuring he has had the competitive edge with equipment and the Sports Performance Clinic who have added strength and mobility off of the bike. Local businesses like JGL Forensics and Invicta Security Solutions supporting financially. Rapid Recover and Power 2 Health there to make sure he is always ready to go tomorrow. Carbon Endurance keeping him fuelled and Echelon South Africa distributors of Abus helmets to keep his head safe.
As with all young athletes, mom and dad play the biggest role - early morning lifts to training, running around for preparations for events, driving - lots and lots of driving… Initially balancing both mountain biking and road racing, Adian’s calendar had him in a different town nearly every weekend chasing the SA XCO Cups, School MTB Series and various road races. Accolades accompanied - podiums at National Championships, winning Schools National Finals, winning the Junior Cape Town Cycle Tour and a number of Top10 Overall finishes at road races as a Junior. A barrage of awards followed from Full Colours and Best Sports Achievement at Grey College to Cyclist of the year by the Free State Cycling Federation to list a few.
2024 saw Adian as a first year Junior heading to the Tour of Ireland and his first time traveling internationally. 2025 would be a big year as he would find himself representing South Africa at Junior Nations Cups during the Saxo E3 Classic in Belgium, Morbihan in France and Saarland in Germany. He would stay on to race the Spie Internationale Junioren Driedaagse in Netherlands before heading to Spain where he would win the Gran Premio Albariño Cambados.
Through the guidance of coach Barry Austin, Adian has built his power and endurance to create numbers that have drawn the attention of Q36.5 Amacx U23 Team - the development squad linked to the Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team. Adian is headed to Switzerland from mid-April as a guest rider to train with and gain further European racing experience when he lines up at a number of races over the time he is there. We know Adian will make the most of this opportunity and we look forward to sharing his journey.
