From left to right: Cherise Taylor, Robyn de Groot, Jo Van De Winkel, Lise Olivier, An-Li Pretorius, Ashleigh Moolman Pasio

In March this year, the South African national team: Robyn de Groot, Cherise Taylor, Jo Van De Winkel, Lise Olivier, An-Li Pretorius and I took part in a photo shoot at Savannah Game and River Lodge near Parys, to market the Tour de Free State.

The objective of the shoot was to expose our feminine side, with the aim to target a female market. Thereby introducing them to professional cycling, an otherwise male dominated sport, in a more appealing way!

Women athletes are strong and muscular, but we can also be beautiful and feminine.

The shoot was rather challenging to say the least. We were all forced out of our comfort zones. Wearing high couture clothing, high heals and make-up is not something we do every day; and contrary to popular belief, pulling off that sultry model pose is not very easy at all.

The shoot proved to be a great success and team building exercise!

We all had lots of fun and I must admit, it was nice to dress up and feel beautiful for a change ☺

Thanks Pela Pela events and marketing for coming up with such an original way of marketing women’s cycling and thanks Bob at Savannah Game and River Lodge for providing such a fabulous location.

For more information, visit the official Tour de Free State website.

This time next week, I will be taking part in the Tour de Free State with my Lotto Belisol team, in the Free State province, South Africa. The tour marks a milestone in cycling in South Africa, Africa and internationally as:

• It is the first UCI Women’s raod cycling tour in South Africa.
• It has contributed to the growth of women’s cycling in South Africa, Africa and more importantly worldwide as it has filled a very obvious gap in the UCI Women’s cycling calendar.
• It provides a great opportunity for nations to increase their international rankings before the UCI’s deadline for Olympic qualification on 31 May.
• The tour helps small town charities and schools to raise funds and awareness.
• The tour helps promote tourism in the beautiful South African province of the Free State.
• The tour exposes African cyclists to cycling competition at an international level, by making it more accessible to them.
• The tour contributes to the UCI goal of globalizing cycling by promoting racing across all continents.

The UCI 2.1 Women’s Tour de Free State starts on Wednesday, 23 May and finishes in the beautiful town of Clarens on Sunday, 27 May. Here is a summary of the stages:

Stage 1, 23 May:  Willem Pretorius Game Reserve – Virginia – Theunissen – Brandfort, 112km

Stage 2, 24 May: Jagersfontein – Bloemfontein, 100km

Stage 3, 26 May: Clarens – Bethlehem – Fouriesburg – Clarens, 120km

Stage 4, 27 May: Kestell – Phuthaditjhaba – Clarens, 94km

The Tour de Free State is particularly significant to me as an individual, as I grew up in Bloemfontein, the city of roses. I completed my schooling career at Eunice High School for girls in 2003. I am proud of my Eunice heritage and the role my schooling career played in forming me as an individual and professional athlete, and I am proud to be able to share that with the girls. Eunice girls will be supporting along route on Thursday 24 May, when Stage 2 finishes on top of Naval Hill in the city of Bloemfontein.

The tour also plays a very important part in the South African national team’s Olympic campaign and objective to qualify three riders to represent the country at the London Olympic Games in July and August.

I commend Cycling South Africa, the Free State Government and Karin from Pela Pela events and marketing for the amazing work they have done to make this event a reality!

For more information, visit the official website or follow Tour de Free State on twitter.

Tour de Free State – Feel it! A free state of mind.

Related articles:

UCI Women’s tour in Africa welcomed with open arms

Tour de Free State helps small town charities and schools to raise funds and awareness

Tour de Free State press release at launch – 20 April 2012

Today is Mother’s Day in South Africa, a day to celebrate and commemorate our wonderful mother’s, their influence in our lives and in society. With about 10000km separating me from my very special mom, Frances; I find myself thinking of her and what she means to me on this day.

My mom is a blessing from God above!

Her selfless love and sacrifice for my sister Robyn and I, shines.

There is nothing my mother won’t do for us, her children.

Her strength and grace is inspirational.

She has always been there for us; to guide, encourage, love and protect us.

She has supported us through all the successes and challenges life has thrown at us; never judging, never pressurizing, and always encouraging us to be the best that we can possibly be!

There is no-one as devoted as my mother.

My mother holds my heart forever.

She is my mother and I would have no other!

Through my lifetime, I have been blessed with not only one special lady in my life, but three.

I have a wonderful step mother, Sandy, and mother in law, Sheila.

I’m very lucky to be blessed with so much motherly love, care and support!

God bless all mother’s!

…says the bells of Serinya

Every day in Serinya, our new European hometown, the ringing of the local church bells awakes us.  The bells have grown to form an integral part of our day, ringing every hour, on the hour, and every quarter hour in between.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven……I hear myself counting each morning as the ding-dong of the bells beckon me out of bed.

First things first, Carl gets out of bed and gets the coffee going.  While it brews on the stove, the smell instantly fills the entire flat and the pungent aroma coaxes me to finally begin my day. After coffee and a hearty breakfast, we are ready to set off on our bikes to explore the beautiful Catalonian countryside.

Serinya is a small Spanish country town in the province of Girona, Catalunya, Northern Spain, which is also very close to the Pyreness mountains that form the border with France.  Serinya is about 20km from the town Girona, a popular base for foreign cyclists especially from the USA, Australia and the UK.  Girona was Lance Armstrong’s European hometown during the period 2001 to 2006, the years he won the Tour de France, so it’s no surprise that the area is one of the best and most popular places in the world to live as a professional cyclist.

Serinya is even more ideal since it is situated in the quiet countryside, outside of the hubbub of busy Girona, but close enough to enjoy the vibe of the town and even Barcelona, which is a mere hour’s drive away, on day’s off.

Our friends Gareth and Fiona of Girona Cycling, a training centre 1km from our flat, have informed us that they have 120 different cycling routes recorded on their Garmin cycling computer, further explaining the draw for cyclists.  In our experience so far, exploring new routes in the area is definitely not a hard task to achieve.

Spring in Girona province is beautiful, especially from a bike.  The mornings are fresh and the sun shines brightly, enticing us further and further along narrow, quite country roads that wind through beautiful fruit orchards, wheat and canola fields sprinkled with red poppies; the glow of the crisp white snow on the Pyrenees completes the picture-perfect scene.

After a good training ride, we arrive home to our little flat hungry and eager to enjoy a relaxing afternoon of recovery after our morning adventure. Carl quickly dashes down to the bakery to buy some freshly baked bread.  On route he makes a quick stop to pick up some fresh fruit and vegetables from the local green grocer and then, to top it off, stops at the local butcher for some freshly sliced prosciutto.

“Ding-dong.” The church bells remind us it’s 2pm and time to siesta! Siesta in Spain is a very important part of the day. Everything closes between 2pm and 5pm to encourage everyone to rest and revive energy levels. Days are long in Spain, the sun rises early and sets late, so we have learned that it is important to use this time to relax in order to take advantage of the amazing Spanish evenings.

One, two, three, four, five…..the ding-dong of the church bells signals the end of siesta and the start of the evening. The evenings are warm and balmy, the perfect time to enjoy the serenity of the Banyoles lake.

Banyoles is a town situated 3km from Serinya and the lake was used for many of the water sports during the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games.  The legacy of the Olympics means Banyoles is particularly well set up for athletes with fantastic gym and open water sports facilities.

After an evening session of activity in Banyoles, either a peaceful walk along the lake, a stretch or strength session at the gym, or an ice bath right in the cold lake, it is time to head home, fill our empty tummies and prepare for the ding-dong-ding of the bells calling us to bed.

We switch off the lights, reminiscing the beautiful day but eager for the new day that awaits.

Life in Serinya town is a dream.

Named in honour of the first female world champion, the Festival du Luxembourg Elsy Jacobs 2012 is a 3 day tour in Luxembourg from April 27-29. The first stage is an evening prologue of 1.7km, stage two is a 102km road race, and the final stage is a 99km road race.

Prologue: Rain and Risk

The evening prologue took place in heart of Luxembourg city. It had rained earlier in the day and the roads were wet. Being in the centre of the city, each corner was covered in white and yellow paint for pedestrian crossings making them very slippery. Since we weren’t allowed to have following vehicles, if you crashed you would have no support and would have to accept the time of the last finisher. So, although there were only four corners, I was nervous about them even before we started.

The race had attracted a very competitive field and all the popular favourites were in attendance, most of them on full TT bikes. I was only on a standard bike, so I focused on having a strong race and hoped the rain would stay away. As the race started, the weather seemed to be holding out and the first riders, including the winner Annemiek van Vleuten, were lucky enough to enjoy drier roads. Literally, as I was about to start, it started to rain and the rain just got worse and worse as time went by. With a wet course and no vehicle support, I knew the race would come down to a question of how many risks you were willing to take.

I gave the prologue a good effort and felt strong, but as I rounded the first corner, and each one after that, I could feel my nerves. When you find yourself thinking too much about technical aspects, like corners, you start to doubt yourself and then it is pretty much game over. I took the two most technical corners really easy and lost quite a bit of time on them but I didn’t want to take any risks. I decided rather to limit my loses time wise and focus instead on upcoming road stages.

I finished in the middle of the field, 14 seconds down from the winner Annemiek van Vleuten and was happy to finish with no incidents.

Full results for the prologue here.

Stage 2: Making the Split

Stage 2 was a 102km road race including one big lap through the rolling hills of Luxembourg countryside and 5 local laps, in and around the little town of Garnich. The local lap included two short climbs, a tough cross wind section at the top of the second climb, some technical downhill and an uphill drag to the finish line.

Having raced the same route last year, I was very familiar with the terrain and route technicalities. Despite some lingering clouds, the weather had improved drastically overnight and standing on the start line, we were all hoping for a dry race.

Last year the big lap served as a great warm up with racing only really starting on the local laps. Very soon after the start, it became clear that this would be the case again this year.

Entering the local laps, about 50km into the race, I felt great and excited to get down to some action!  There were numerous attacks throughout the last 50 km of racing on the local laps. It was really fun being aggressive myself, trying my luck at a few attacks, covering moves and driving breaks.

On the last lap, a split of 12 formed including most of the race favourites, Marianne Vos, Emma Johansson, Amber Neben to name a few. I made the split and so did teammate Jo Van De Winkel.

It came down to sprint from the group of 12 and dammit, I certainly made a good job of messing up my chances of a great finish! I finished 9^th and Jo 10^th. Good, but not the result we were looking for.

Last year, I missed the split in this same race. I was caught positioned too far back in the bunch at the critical moments and found myself in the chasing peloton.

This year, my confidence has grown. I can take part in creating the racing and I have learnt how to make the split. The next step is to learn how to read the sprints.

I finished stage 2 with all the hill prime points and the climbers jersey.

Full results for stage 2 here.

Stage 3: Crash in Sprint

Stage 3 was a 99.1km  road race including the same big lap as stage 2 and 5 local laps in and around the town of Mamer. The local lap included one short, undulating climb, a fast down hill section and a very technical sprint finish in the town of Mamer.

The big lap was not quite as laid back as yesterday’s race. The race started hard and fast, with much attacking. With only seconds separating the top 20, anything was possible and the peloton went mental. Just about everyone tried their luck at getting away, but to no avail.

Having the climber’s jersey, I decided to wait for the hill primes, with the aim to use them as a launch pad for a break away.

There were three hill primes on the day and on all three occasions I tried my best to get away. On the second prime I managed to get away with two riders, but we were quickly chased down by Marianne Vos. On the last prime, I tried once again. Marianne Vos came with me, but did not want to cooperate and we were once again brought back by the peloton.

Approaching the final lap, it became clear that Rabobank wanted a sprint finish. They did everything in their power to control the racing and with success, as the sprint was won by Annemiek van Vleuten. Marianne Vos finished closely behind her in second place and with the overall win.

Unfortunately, a crash happened on the last technical corner entering the final 500m. This took world champion Georgia Bronzini down and ended the chances of many of the sprinters. I found myself caught behind the crash, disappointed that the race had come to a premature end for me, but relieved to have finished safe and sound.

Teammate Cherise Taylor was lucky enough to escape the crash and finished 5^th, a great result for her and our Lotto Belisol team. I finished the tour, winning the climber’s competition and in 11^th position overall. Teammate Jo Van De Winkel finished 12^th overall.

Full results here.

Luxembourg was great! It was a great opportunity to experiment and bond as a team. We all learnt a lot and had fun doing so

Onwards and upwards!

All photographs courtesy of Wim Hoste.

*photo courtesy of Bart Hazen

On Wednesday, 18 April, I took part in my second Flèche Wallonne Femmes World Cup race. Flèche Wallonne is one of the toughest and most prestigious World Cup races on the women’s UCI calendar.

The Flèche Wallonne is such a prestigious race as we race on the same day and same finishing circuits as the men’s race. This means that we experience the amazing vibe and spectatorship of the men’s event.

The race takes place in the hilly Wallonne region of Belgium. It consists of one long loop, summiting the infamous Muur de Huy at 87km, and then a smaller loop finishing on top of the very steep, Muur de Huy at 123km.

On route to the Muur, we climb five categorised climbs along narrow, winding roads; through small Belgium villages, forests and exposed farm roads. We then climb the Muur for the first time, followed by another two climbs; before climbing the Muur for the second and last time, to the finish line.

Yesterday’s race was one of the toughest Flèche Wallonne races yet, as it took place in very unusual and unforgiving weather conditions. We started in freezing cold and experienced both rain and howling winds during the course of the race.

The bad weather conditions caused much stress in the peloton. From the start, I could sense a tension in the peloton with girls screaming, breaks squealing and wheels touching. The first crash happened within the first 10km and this continued throughout the race.

Despite the tension in the bunch I managed to stay calm, focused and collected. Doing my best to hold good position, out of the wind, out of trouble and without spending unnecessary energy. I managed to achieve this and hitting the Muur for the first time, I felt good and climbed comfortably amongst the world’s best, summiting the climb in the top five.

*Photo courtesy of Christopher Jobbs

This is when the race really started! If the Muur de Huy wasn’t tough enough already, there was a strong cross wind on the flat piece of road on the top. The top teams used this to their strength, in numbers, and drove the pass hard, guttering the front split and attacking at regular intervals.

This was the hardest part of the race for me, as I found myself somewhat outnumbered and isolated. I had to fight hard to maintain my position and avoid being dead wheeled in the tough cross winds. While this was happening, I saw the move of three off the front consisting of Clara Hughs (Specialized Lululemon), Linda Villumsen (Greenedge) and Lucinda Brand (AA Drink). I didn’t panic, as the key riders I was watching, had not yet made their move.

The three-man breakaway posed quite a threat to Marianne Vos and her Rabobank team. They had missed the split, which forced them to use valuable energy and chase. Approaching the second last climb of the day, Marianne Vos put her teammates Pauline Ferrand-Prevot and Annemiek van Vleuten on the front to bring down the gap to the breakaway.

Hitting the penultimate climb, I knew Marianne Vos was going to make her move, but didn’t expect her to go at the very bottom of the 1.5km climb. I was sitting about 7th wheel entering the climb, just too far back to react immediately. Evelyn Stevens who had teammate, Amber Neben, leading her out into the climb on the front, managed to take Marianne’s wheel directly and I found myself chasing, stuck in no man’s land.

Reaching the top of the climb, I decided to limit my losses and waited for the chasing group including last year’s podium finishers Emma Johansson and Judith Arndt. GreenEdge riders Tiffany Cromwell and Claudia Hausler got on the front to chase for their leader, Judith Arndt and being outnumbered, I decided to settle in a comfortable position near the front, waiting for the final climb up the Muur de Huy.

Climbing the Muur for the final time to the finish line was quite an amazing experience! The crowds lining the climb went mad, cheering and chanting, making the severity of the climb all that much more bearable.

I had practiced the Muur before in training and knew it was critical not to go too early. I had to remain disciplined not to surge to the front to soon, but about half way up, I was feeling comfortable and realised the remaining girls were hurting. I got on the front and with about 150m to go, I realised it was Judith Arndt and I to the finish line. I gave it one last kick and found myself crossing the line in 5th position, ahead of Judith.

*photo courtesy of Christopher Jobbs

Congratulations to Evelyn Stevens for her incredible win! Marianne Vos finished 2nd, Linda Villumsen 3rd and Lucinda Brand 4th.

Finishing 5th in a race of this calibre is a big result, the biggest of my career thus far. A top five result was my goal for the race, I’m happy with what I achieved, but I must admit I’m disappointed I missed the move of the day!

A top five result is special, as Flèche Wallonne is a monument race in Belgium and I race for a Belgium team, Lotto Belisol when in Europe. It was wonderful to see the joy it brought to my team, management and Belgium sponsors who were at the race supporting.

On my way back to my European base, in Spain yesterday, I found myself counting my blessings! It is amazing how people have been placed in my life and doors have opened to enable me to persue my dreams! I am incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to race at the highest level in Europe with amazing support from my husband Carl, family, teammates, friends and key role players, Roy Gershow in particular!

The experience I am gaining racing in Europe is irreplaceable! Once again I learnt so much about myself during yesterday’s race. I have come away from Flèche with renewed faith and confidence in my abilities. In honour of Carla Swart, 2012 is the year to “dream big and make it happen”. I will continue dreaming!

Thank you to all at home in South Africa and other parts of the world for the amazing support, it is very much appreciated!

Onwards and upwards

Two major events took place this past Sunday.

My hubby Carl and his teammate Nic finished the Absa Cape Epic at home in South Africa.

And the Ronde van Vlaanderen, the most prestigious race in Belgium, took place in the Flanders region of Belgium.

The Ronde van Vlaanderen is not a race I would usually take part in. Despite it’s gradeur and prestige, it is not a race suited to me as a rider. However, after my 10th placing at the Trofeo Binda World Cup the previous weekend, this year I was called up by my team to race. The World Cup points I earned at Binda would give the team a good car placing in the race convoy. The Ronde being such a technical race, with much possibility of mechanical problems for the riders, a good car position would serve the team well. I left warm Italy to make my way to freezing cold Belgium for the weekend, with good intentions to help my Belgium, Lotto Belisol team in Vlaanderen’s mooiste (Flanders finest) race.

On the eve of the race, already at the race accommodation with the team, I found out that the race organisation would not let me start. I was not on the team reserve list, a fact that the organisation often cast a blind eye to, but despite much pleading by my team manager Dany Schoonbaert, they were not willing to budge this time. That’s when I realised I would be a supporter for the day. I felt disappointed for the team, but being a part of the RVV vibe as a supporter was a new and exciting prospect.

Sunday morning came. I was in the centre of the RVV energy and hype, but I found myself feeling somewhat empty and removed. It was the strangest feeling!

Throughout the race, I followed my Lotto Belisol team. I supported and cheered wherever possible, but part of me was missing!

My mind and soul was in another place. I was frantically and anxiously awaiting news from hubby Carl, who was taking part in the final stage of his Epic journey!

This is when I realised just how hard it is not to be there for the one you love in one of the biggest moments of their lives!

The 2012 Absa Cape Epic was the hardest yet. Carl and his teammate Nic had been challenged in every way possible over the length of the event. I had chatted to Carl before the 8th and final stage, and I new just how mentally and physically drained he was feeling.

Maybe a piece of me was missing! I was with Carl in spirit. That’s the reason I felt so empty and drained. It was as if I was experiencing all the pain and suffering of the gruesome eight days of racing!

Turns out my Lotto Belisol team suffered much bad luck during the RVV race. Cherise Taylor punctured just before the first cobble section and never managed to rejoin the front group. Kim Schoonbaert crashed early on in the race and Ludivine Henrion punctured later in the race, at a very critical moment. I feel terrible, if I had started and we had a good car position, things could have been so different!

Sunday was a big day, it was a very trying day for me! Even though I did not race myself, I was tested in faith and strength.

I felt heart sore not being in South Africa to celebrate an awesome achievement with Carl and Nic!

I am so incredibly proud of them! They finished 23rd in the toughest Epic ever, with much bad luck and many challenges! The way they pulled each other through all the ups and downs was absolutely inspirational! They are both hero’s in my eyes!

Nic has posted some great pieces on his personal webpage which are well worth a read. He also wrote daily pieces for the Cape Times newspaper which can be read here.

Sunday was a big day and I’m glad it’s over!

My husband Carl inspires me!

While I’m enjoying some good training in Northern Italy, my better half, Carl is battling it out at the Absa Cape Epic back home in South Africa.

If you don’t already know, the Absa Cape Epic is 8-day mountain bike stage race over some of the toughest and most gruesome mountain biking terrain South Africa has to offer!

This means, that while I am training hard, but with plenty of time to relax and recover; Carl is getting stronger and stronger. So that when he joins me in Europe in just over a week’s time, he can whip my ass into even better shape than before

His message to me yesterday; “I think after this race baby, you gonna struggle to sit my wheel!”

As if Carl wasn’t strong enough already, I look forward to the challenge of having a super human training partner!

I am very blessed to have such a talented and supportive husband, best friend, training partner, and soul mate!

Despite a lot of bad luck with punctures, split tyres and gastro bugs, Carl and his RSAWEB/songo.info teammate Nic Lamond are doing famously well for their first Epic together. They are currently lying 38th overall!

You can follow Carl and partner Nic Lamond as they take on their Epic journey on twitter: @CarlPasio, @niclamond, @TeamRSAWEB

Nic also writes great, daily articles in the Cape Times newspaper.

Well done guys and keep up the great work!

Tomorrow I will be doing a long, hard training ride in Italy to prepare for Carl’s arrival next week

Yesterday I realised that nothing quite prepares one for the race intensity and pace in Europe, like racing in the European women’s peloton does! Of course racing with the veteran men back home has helped to bring us that much closer, but WOW, these women race hard! Yesterday we averaged 39km/h for 131km with 1470m climbing!

*photo courtesy of Ambrogio Rizzi

The Trofeo Binda World Cup started in Cittiglio, Italy. The race consisted of one big lap and four small, local laps. Each small lap included one 3km climb with an uphill drag to the finish line.

The race started with a very large peloton of 164 women, much larger than most World Cup races. Being an Italian World Cup, many invitational Italian women’s teams were allowed to start. This did not help much, as from the start there were many nervous women and much tension in the peloton.

After a 10km neutral zone, we set off for 121km of racing, and my word the girls set off at quite a pace! This pace continued for the entire length of the race. It was literally full taps from the start to finish, with very little time for recovery!

I held a good position near the front of the peloton from the start. But despite my good position, I still managed to get taken down in a crash on the first small descent of the race, at about 15km.

This rattled me a bit, having crashed twice in last years race, which completely ruined any chances of a good result, I found myself hoping and praying last year’s misfortune would not repeat itself. Luckily enough, my fall was not very hard and I managed to get myself up, and going quite quickly.

After a hard, but controlled chase, I managed to catch the peloton about 10km before the first major climb of the day. I took a few minutes to recover and set off to make my way to the front, before hitting the climb.

*photo courtesy of Ambrogio Rizzi

The race pace continued to be hard and fast, but unlike last year, we did not managed to drop as many riders on the first two climbs of the big lap. The racing really started on the small local laps. With every lap, we managed to drop more and more riders. But it was on the second last climb of the day, with one lap to go, I found myself in a break away of 11 riders with representation from all the major teams.

Unfortunately just before we hit the final climb of the day, we were caught from behind by the chasing peloton. This complicated things slightly, as on catching us, there was a huge rush to the front before hitting the final climb of the day.

Starting the climb, I found myself somewhat boxed in and had to fight hard to get out again. By this time, a move had gone off the front of the peloton and I found myself chasing hard again. As I rejoined the 10 riders off the front, Marianne Vos (Rabobank) made her move. Having worked quite hard to make the break, I just didn’t have the legs to follow her!

If you give Marianne Vos an inch, she takes a mile, and soon we found ourselves racing for second place. At this point I was literally fighting for survival. I have been struggling with a head cold and allergies since arriving in Europe and after 125km of hard racing; I was not feeling my best!

With a few last attempt attacks approaching the finish line and with a fast approaching chasing peloton, I found myself on the front of our chase group of 10 taking the final corner with about 500m to go. In hindsight, not the best place to be, but not thinking very clearly at the time, I thought I could launch my sprint early and last!

*photo courtesy of Ambrogio Rizzi

Marianne Vos won and I crossed the finish line 10^th, a respectable finish for my first World Cup of 2012, but I found myself feeling very disappointed! I had messed up my sprint, my last chance of a higher finishing position and more valuable points for South Africa!

On reflection, I learnt a lot about myself during the race and after finishing 57^th last year, I am happy with my result! Trofeo Binda was my first race back in Europe for 2012 and not feeling my best, I’m hoping that things can only get better from here!

The other South African girls did their best on the day, but unfortunately Jo Van De Winkel and An-Li Pretorius did not finish. Jo was caught up in the same crash I went down in, but unlike me, she needed mechanical assistance from our team vehicle and never managed to rejoin the front peloton. Lise rode strong to finish 62nd in her first World Cup ever!

Onwards and upwards

For full race results click here

Meet Japie Malanat, the oldest finisher of the Pick ‘n Pay Cape Argus Cycle Tour 2012. Japie is 92 years old and finished yesterday’s Cycle Tour in 05 hours and 49 minutes. What an incredible achievement and what an inspirational story. This is what the Cycle Tour is all about; people from all walks of life, all ages, genders, races and nationalities coming together to take part in the biggest timed cycling event in the world. It is the camaraderie, scenery and spirit of the event that makes it so special!

It is a great honour to win the Cycle Tour and of course I am very happy to have won my first Argus yesterday, but having said that, my victory is somewhat bitter sweet!

Together with some men, I raced aggressively for the entire length of the event. My intention was to try split up the large start bunch, in order to make the finish sprint that much safer! Unfortunately we were not successful in doing so. The nature of the course and the large bunch made it very hard for a break away to get away and stay away to the finish line.

Approaching the finish line, I was very aware of the dangers of a big bunch! We had three different race categories (elite women, men’s 40+ and 50+ vets) all going for the win. Bunch sprints are always dangerous, no matter what the race situation and I found myself praying, especially in the last 10km for my safety and the safety of all the riders around me.

Nearing the finish line, I saw a great opportunity. One of the men started his sprint quite long. The bunch became strung out, I managed to place myself 4th wheel and when the eventual Veteran Men’s winner launched his sprint, I came off his wheel to launch mine. I set my focus on the finish line and was completely oblivious to what was happening behind me. I had no idea of the carnage happening in the peloton, taking about twenty cyclists down, including all three of my Momentum Toyota teammates.

I am very happy to have taken the Cycle Tour win for my Momentum Toyota team, but I am sad for those that were involved in the crash! Well done to Catherine Wiliamson (Team Bizhub) and Lynette Burger (CSA U23) who finished 2nd and 3rd respectively.

The Argus Cycle Tour is a special event for me and my family. As a family we have taken part in the event for many years and it was wonderful having my Mom, sister and husband on the finish line!

Congratulations to all who finished the Cape Argus Cycle Tour yesterday. Whether you were just aiming to finish, a win in your respective category or a personal best time, I hope you achieved all you aimed for and more! To all those involved in crashes, I wish you a speedy recovery! To those who supported on the day, thanks for your cheering, it does make the race so much more enjoyable and special!

Crashes aside, the Pick ‘n Pay Cape Argus Cycle Tour 2012 was a great event! Thanks to all involved in the organisation and running of the event on the day!