South Africa’s Catherine Colyn has taken a step closer to achieving her dream of becoming a professional cyclist after making it into the Canyon-SRAM/Zwift Academy semifinals.
More than 4 900 women participated, which was a new record, and the 21-year-old Colyn and fellow South African 19-year-old Elne Owen were in the top-10 global mix announced on Friday.
Colyn, who races on both road and mountain bikes, said it felt amazing to be among the selected few with an opportunity to win a contract with Canyon-SRAM for next year.
South Africa’s Catherine Colyn (front) was recently chosen as one of 10 semifinalists who are in the running to win a contract with the Canyon-SRAM professional racing team for next year. Photo: Sean Rowe
“To me it’s one step closer to my dream and to showing other South African girls that it is possible to make it,” Colyn told In the Bunch.
To reach the semifinals the girls had to complete 10 sessions, two races and four group rides. The three finalists will be chosen after completing four additional workouts, two outdoor rides and one race when the qualifying round takes place from October 15 to 28.
“To prepare I’m maintaining my fitness,” said Colyn, who planned to participate in the academy last year but damaged her knee in a crash and was forced to take the year off.
“I had to give it a skip, so this year it was definitely one of my big goals to see how far I can take it – hopefully all the way.”
She said the girls were all at a high level, but she felt her mental strength and climbing ability would play in her favour in the semifinal round.
To win the contract would mean the world to Colyn, who said she wanted it more than anything.
“Getting the pro contract with the racing team is all I can think and dream about 24/7.”
Colyn, who raced with the Maaslandster international team for three months this year, added that she was still developing and she had evolved so much that it was difficult to say now what she could bring to “such a high-level and classy team”.
“I would love to be just like a sponge around the girls and learn everything that they teach and tell me,” said the Paarl local.
“I’m very happy with my past season. It’s been my best one on the road. I achieved a podium in Belgium and a top-10 in an international tour.”
Colyn added that her long-term goals were to win the national road title, compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and to make the podium at the Commonwealth and Olympic Games.
The other semi-finalists are Germany’s Eva Buchholz; England’s Harriet Dodd, Helen McKay and Mary Wilkinson; Sweden’s Nathalie Eklund; New Zealand’s Ella Harris and Ione Johnson; and the Netherlands’ Laura van Regenmortel.
