A teenage cyclist who dreams of racing in the next Olympics has been given £1,000 to get him on the road to success.

Germain Burton, 17, of Windermere Road, near Streatham Common, hopes the cash will help him get one step closer to rivalling the success of his heroes Mark Cavendish and double gold medallist Bradley Wiggins.

The cycling protegee, who works as a stockist at De Ver Cycles on Streatham High Road, won the national youth circuit race championships for his age group in 2010 and plans to compete in the junior world championships later this year.

He said: “I hope to be a professional cyclist- that is my ambition. But I can only hope I can achieve what Bradley and Mark have achieved [in my career].”

The former St Joseph’s College pupil plans to use the cash to pay for international competitions.

He added he was undecided on which type of competitive cycling he would pursue as he progresses towards the adult ranks, but said he would be gearing up for the Olympics in 2016.

He said: “I’ll use the money to support my development as a cyclist through being able to travel more frequently to races on the continent, where the level of competition is much higher than in the UK.

“I hope this will increase my opportunities of gaining results in national races.”

Streatham resident John Ditchfield, a managing partner at financial adviser Barchester Green Investment which supplied the grant, said: “It was the Olympic year so we decided to support a local sportsperson.”