When Juanita Venter successfully defended her national time-trial title and then made it a double in the road race, the veteran rider showed she was only just getting started on the South African racing scene.
“I’ve won the time-trial a couple of times before but the road was the ever-elusive title I wanted to win,” said the 37-year-old.
The Bestmed-ASG rider not only achieved that personal goal but also set her course for the UCI Amateur Road World Championships in Slovenia at the end of August.
“I’m not sure whether I’ve reached my peak yet. I’d like to compete in the elite category next year but I had to race as a vet to qualify for world champs later this year.
“That being said, we have an exceptionally strong field in the veteran category. Odelle Joubert and Greer Wynn are two strong competitors who can easily win an elite race.”
Venter said she was looking forward to making her international debut for South Africa.
“My main aim will be to podium in the time-trial but I’m also taking part in the road race and I want to do really well.”
Venter certainly seemed to be in top form at the Bestmed Tour de Boland in March, where she took the yellow jersey in the opening time-trial and only relinquished it again on the fourth and final road stage.
“I believe I have the endurance for tours and prefer them to the one-day races. Sometimes the classics can be a gamble and in South Africa it mostly comes down to a sprint finish.
“In a tour there are all the different disciplines and it’s never over until you’ve reached the last stage’s finish.”
This certainly proved true during the Western Cape tour when mountain biker Ariane Kleinhans of Team RE:CM claimed a surprise overall victory without winning a single stage.
“Tour de Boland was a really big learning curve for our team,” said Venter.
“We made a crucial mistake on day three to let a break get away, but that’s racing I suppose. Spending energy to chase back three minutes cost us the jersey on day four.”
She praised her younger teammates for their passion and dedication to a sport in which women’s racing is often under-supported.
“We have a team with great potential and my goal for them is to become the future stars of cycling. They went out and rode like superstars.”
As for her own riding career, the qualified textile designer has made great strides since taking up social cycling in 2006.
“I started teaching spinning classes at the local gym and became more involved in cycling. During that time, my results kept on improving and I gained more confidence.”
Over the past seven years, the Pretoria resident has gone from strength to strength, winning the MTN Panorama Tour last year alongside Andrea Steyn.
Other titles came in the veterans’ category of the Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge and Dome2Dome races.
She also finished third overall at the Bestmed Jacaranda Satellite Classic and Action Ford Krugersdorp Classic last season.
“There’s definitely longevity in cycling. I’m very fortunate to have flexible working hours – it makes it easy for me to train and recover.”
As for her other victories, there is one “notable” one that certainly stands out.
“I’ve always had a great love for music. So in 2007 I went for the Noot vir Noot audition in Pretoria.
“It was such a great experience and I went on to win the season. I think I was more surprised at winning it than Johan Stemmet!
“And, for the record, I bought my time-trial bike with some of the winnings!”
Surprising people with her performances seems to be Venter’s modus operandi and she is far from done.
“I think women gain endurance and wisdom as they get older. It all depends on how much you want something in life.”
She cites endurance swimmer Lewis Gordon-Pugh’s book 21 Yaks and a Speedo as a major source of inspiration.
“His words that really inspire me when I’m tired and on the verge of giving up are: ‘Ask yourself if you can take one more step. If the answer is yes, then take it’.”
