Tour de PPA regular Nadia Visser will use Sunday’s race as a hard training ride ahead of the Cape Epic, which kicks off on March 18.
“It will be my fourth Tour de PPA and I’m using it as proper training ahead of the Epic, which is a huge challenge for me,” said Visser who – along with Chris Cronje – placed third overall in the mixed-team category at the Tankwa Trek this month.
She has taken on the Cape Epic challenge once before and said she knew what was required to do well.
Nadia Visser sees Sunday’s Tour de PPA as a good training ride ahead of the Cape Epic next month. Photo: Chris Hitchcock
“This is my main plan for the year and knowing what it takes scares me a bit,” said Visser, who is aiming for a podium finish on Sunday.
“I would be very pleased to be among the top three ladies, but to end up on the podium – especially in road racing – you need to ride tactically, watch the other riders and stick with your bunch. Most importantly, you need to stay safe.”
The Tour de PPA is a one-day road race that offers a feature distance of 110km, and Visser said her strategy was to stay with her bunch along the route.
“If I can stay with them over the climbs, the rest of the race will be easy.”
The Durbanville local said she was quite familiar with the route, which starts at the Durbanville racecourse and takes riders over the Tiekiedraai and Vissershok climbs before reaching the undulating areas.
“Vissershok is the biggest challenge as punchy climbs are not my strong point. I prefer long and gradual ones. I’m also better at flat sections and racing in the wind, which happens after the climb,” said Visser, who sees her endurance as her strength.
“I can ride flats very well and it’s hard to shake me off if I sit in the bunch. The longer the race gets, the stronger I become and my endurance serves me very well then.”
Visser, who placed second in the Bouckaert-Soenen road race earlier this month, said there would be a few main contenders for the title and strong competition that she would need to face.
“Riders to look out for will be Catherine Colyn, Lucy James and Tina Brenzel if they are all riding.”
