For the first time in almost four decades the Cape Town Cycle Tour has established a dedicated group for elite ladies for the 2015 race so they can ride on equal terms with their male counterparts on March 8.
Cape Town Cycle Tour. Photo: Supplied
Organisers of the Cycle Tour, the Cape Town Cycle Tour Trust, heeded calls for women cyclists to be seeded in their own group, rather than among the racing Vets as in previous years.
“Nine times out of 10 the men’s contest ends in a dramatic sprint finish, and with the women racing alone this year, it will surely shake things up in a good way – hopefully with some exciting breakaways along the route,” said 2012 Cycle Tour winner Ashleigh Moolman Pasio.
Moolman Pasio, recently crowned SA sports woman of the year and who returned from last week’s African Road Cycling Championships in KwaZulu-Natal with five gold medals, is one of the female cycling legends who will line up at the start of the world’s largest timed cycle race on Hertzog Boulevard.
Other elite women to watch are Cycle Tour’s defending champion Cherise Stander; seven-time Cycle Tour winner Anriette Schoeman; Swedish National Champion Jennie Stenerhag; and last year’s third place finisher An-Li Kachelhoffer.
“With the calibre of female cyclists we have competing at the moment, the dedicated elite ladies group will make it a tough event with tactic being the most important factor,” said Stander.
“While I’ve always found riding with the men very exciting, it is brilliant that the organisers have women’s cycling at heart,” said Schoeman.
