Team South Africa’s four road cyclists have showed quality, class and professionalism at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on August 6, 7 and 10.
Team manager Douglas Ryder was full of praise for Louis Meintjes, Daryl Impey, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio and An-Li Kachelhoffer after competing as teams of two against the world’s strongest cycling nations, some of which had teams of four or five riders.
Louis Meintjes finished seventh in the road race at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on August 6. Photo: Douglas Ryder (Twitter)
The men’s road race was the first event on Saturday morning, with Meintjes finishing seventh and Impey attaining a top-30 result with 28th place.
Greg van Avermaet (BEL) was the eventual winner with Jakob Fuglsang (DEN) second and Rafal Majka (POL) third.
“I think we had a very good race. It was a pretty technical course and very hard, and it was really hot out there that day. In the end I think Daryl and I worked well together,” said Meintjes.
Impey showed his class by supporting Meintjes for most of the race, into the final climb. He shared his experience of the Olympic race and what it meant to him.
“The Olympics is a unique event and one of a kind. Although the course didn’t entirely suit me I came here with the idea of giving it my best and preparing as best I could, knowing that representing my country at an event of this quality deserves that.”
Sunday afternoon saw the women’s road race take to the streets of Fort Copacabana in windy conditions.
Moolman-Pasio finished in 10th, with Kachelhoffer crossing the line in 39th place.
Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio finished 10th place in the road race on August 7, and 12th in the time-trial on August 10. Photo: Wessel Oosthuizen
Anna van der Breggen (NED) claimed the gold medal, with Emma Johansson (SWE) second and Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA) third.
“Going into the race, I knew that it was a climber’s course. For me the tactic was to support Ashleigh as best as I could before the last climb,” said Kachelhoffer.
A disheartened Moolman-Pasio had prepared for an Olympic medal, but it wasn’t meant to be.
“To say that I am not disappointed would be a complete lie. A top-10 result is a good result but I was after a medal and unfortunately that didn’t happen.”
View the results here.
