Daryl Impey was thrown a lifeline by Continental Team MTN-Qhubeka at the beginning of the season, after being caught up in the Pegasus debacle in December last year. The would-be Australian ProTeam failed to secure successful financial backing which left a number of riders scrambling to find employment at a difficult time of year.
Impey signed for the South African team and immediately repaid them by winning the national time trial championships ahead of Jay Thomson and Darren Lill who were meant to be his teammates at Pegasus.
However, with the dream of participating in the Tour de France one day, the 26 year old knew that he’d need to get back to a European racing program if he were to be on par with the world’s top cyclists. A stage win in the Tour of Morocco and a second place finish on a stage behind Stefan Schumacher in the Azerbaïjan Tour, immediately drew the attention of Team NetApp. Within a week of contacting Impey, a deal was signed and he was back on his way to Europe. “NetApp has been great and have welcomed me to the team,” he told VeloNation.
“They have been supportive and I'm really thankful to be back racing good races with the team.”
His first race with the team was Bayern-Rundfahrt where he finished 27th place overall. He recently also completed the Tour de Suisse where his best result was tenth on stage four.
“I found the Tour de Suisse to be challenging everyday. The amount of climbing everyday was surely the biggest factor. The weather had its moments and we had some tough days out there. Overall it is a great race but we could've done with at least one real sprint stage.”
The all-rounder’s biggest result in his career to-date was winning the Tour of Turkey in 2009, albeit under trying circumstances. He was brought down by Theo Bos in the final kilometer of the race. The crash saw him hospitilised for several weeks.
It took a huge amount of belief and determination from the young talent to bounce back from the injuries he sustained. He has expressed his determination to make it to the top of the sport. “The Tour de France is a goal of mine as it is every cyclists dream, I mean if you racing at this level you want to reach the top part of the sport. I would also like to go to London Olympics next year. I see the only way of achieving all of this is through results and dedication.”
Next on the program for Impey is the Tour of Austria [July 3 – 10]. The challenging race has less media attention as it overlaps with the Tour de France, but is by no means insignificant.
“I am working hard to achieve some of my goals this season, hopefully in the Tour of Austria I can start to show some good signs and be rewarded for my efforts,” he said.