Cycling South Africa announced the elite women’s national team for the 2016 African Cycling Confederation Road Cycling Championships, which will take place in Morocco from February 22 to 26, yesterday.
According to the statement, Cycling SA have opted to send a women’s team to give them an opportunity to gain UCI points as part of the Olympic qualification process.
The team is in a good position due to Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio’s performances last season, which saw her ranked sixth in the UCI standings at the end of 2015.
This places SA ninth in the rankings, which means three elites can currently be selected for the Rio Olympics. By sending a team to Morocco, CSA are hoping to secure an additional spot.
With Moolman-Pasio not available for the continental championships, the team will consist of national champion An-Li Kachelhoffer, Lise Olivier and Anriette Schoeman and Samantha Sanders.
The full team will be competing in the team time-trial on February 21 and the road race on February 25, while Sanders and Olivier will compete in the individual time-trial on February 23.
The team will be managed by Steven Sergeant and Jill Bezuidenhout.
According to the UCI Olympiad Qualification System Timeline, the elite men’s qualification period for Rio ended on December 31 last year.
