On Fire at TT Champs
We’re up in the far north of South Africa. It’s beautiful but it’s seriously hot—38C hot—it’s humid, plus there’s even a risk of malaria. It’s definitely not Europe, it’s home and it’s national championships time.
I’ve been training up at altitude in Mpumlanga for the past few weeks and it’s actually been refreshing to get back to what we used to do. Back to the tried and tested winter training that has always put me in a great place for the European season. Great training, fantastic weather, a good healthy dose of the homeland and, of course, national individual time trial championships as the first race of the season.
The 20km time trial was an out and back course with the first half dragging uphill. I went out hard to take advantage of the uphill and had the rider who started 1 minute before me, Carla Oberholzer, within my sight fast. Carla was the perfect carrot to chase and I made the pass at the turnaround point.
Image: Cycle Nation
I maintained a good advantage, as per my race strategy, but with 4km to go all I was thinking was “where is this finish line?!”. I was boiling hot. At that point, I had no fluids on my bike and my core temperature felt like I had swallowed the sun. Carla came back and passed me. Chasing her and dreams of ice cold water at the finish line, I kept her in reach and crossed the finish line just behind her.
I had a good feeling I had the win but I also felt like a human desert. First priority was liquid and lots of it. Thank goodness for my support team and the 4 bottles of cold water I chugged immediately. The weather would be similar in Tokyo so, actually, it was a good experience to have now to better prepare for the Olympics—a realization that only came after bottle of water #2.
The results became official and I had done it! I am the 2020 South African Time Trial Champion and I am so proud to earn the title back, especially in an Olympic year, and take the stripes up to Europe for the rest of the season.
The 104km road race is in a few days and, hopefully, the only thing that will be on fire are my legs!
Image: Cycle Nation
You can follow the race here.
Peaks and Perks
California knows how to party. It was the queen stage of the Tour of California which meant it was all uphill for the final 45km with an amazing summit finish on Mt. Baldy. It also meant there was a cookie corner on one of the switchbacks—literally a corner on the race course where very enthusiastic fans were handing out chocolate chip cookies! Racing in the USA definitely has its perks.
Image: Jeff Clark
I knew the second stage was going to be the stage for me. The first stage had been nervous with strong winds and, to be honest, I was feeling a little flat having just come off some altitude and the set-back of my crash at Amstel. The impact on my sacrum was worse than just a hard landing and the doctor had recommended a few weeks off the bike. Not ideal but the Tour of California, a new race for me, was the perfect place for a new beginning and the start of my summer racing.
We hit the bottom of Mt. Baldy and Katie Hall was the first to accelerate. I wasn’t going to jump. My gut told me the best thing to do was to stick to my own hard tempo. More attacks came from Kasia and Anna, me following in tow, as the bunch was left behind and the break was eventually caught. Anna eventually joined her teammate Katie while Kasia slid back, leaving me on my own.
Image: Jeff Clark
“Steady, stick to your tempo,” I reaffirmed to myself. I was clawing Anna and Katie in, getting the gap down to 14 seconds, but as the gradient at the top backed off, I could only focus on maintaining my position. I crossed the line finishing in third place on the stage and moving up to third on the general classification. Since I had almost cancelled my trip to the USA, I was beyond happy: happy with my race strategy, happy with my physical performance, happy to have a podium, and happy that I managed to grab a chocolate chip cookie from the cookie corner on the way back down the mountain. It was a great day.
The final stage was really aggressive with a really exciting performance from Paulina. I wish there was television coverage so people could have watched how she lit up the race and almost stole the entire show had it not been for the long downhill to the finish. Still, thanks to her efforts, I managed to finish in the small bunch to hold my third overall and get CCC-Liv on the final podium.
Image: Jeff Clark
When I returned to the team car after prize giving, as if finishing on the podium wasn’t enough, I discovered some fan had made me brownies. I mentioned at the Mt. Baldy prize giving that I loved chocolate brownies and I couldn’t believe someone had taken the time and care to deliver brownies to the team. I couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear. The enthusiasm and hospitality of the USA was exactly what I needed. I was leaving the Tour of California with a renewed sense of confidence in my performance, a fresh excitement for the rest of the season, and the desire to come back and race in California next year. Then again, maybe it was just the brownie talking. Yep, they were that good!
May your choices reflect your hopes, not fears
The last time I wrote publicly, I declared that an African would stand on the podium of a Grand Tour for the first time in history. It feels remarkable to deliver on that statement.
Coming second at the Giro Rosa after 10 days of aggressive, exciting, and demanding racing was incredibly satisfying. To back that up with Cille's fourth and my third at La Course only 48 hours later shows the depth of capability and dedication at Cervelo Bigla. Never have we gone so deep, pushed so hard, or fought so bravely. At one point during the Giro, I saw Clara Koppenburg in tears while she was still laying down the power.
To declare a massive ambitious goal publicly was equal parts scary and energising (maybe more 60/40), but we weren’t going to the Giro to lose. We went in with the hope of winning, and used that as our 'north arrow'. We were going to make attacks and believe they would be successful; we were going to ride like a big team because we could influence the outcome; we were going to race the Giro Rosa because we could win. We made sure that every choice, as Nelson Mandela scripted, reflected our hopes, not fears.
There were many times during the race when that strategy was challenged - when we lost two riders in the first few kilometres of the opening team time trial due to unforeseen mechanicals, when I crashed 8km before the finish line on stage 4 and almost lost everything, when Clara stood up to cover another attack on stage eight after I thought she couldn’t possibly turn another pedal stroke. Time after time we held onto our hope.
There have also been moments when our gutsy choices guided us to exactly where we had hoped to be, like when Cille attacked at La Course and I got to watch the entire bunch scramble and discuss what the heck they were going to do, or , back at the Giro, when I crested the Zoncolan in second place, chasing the pink jersey solo, and, of course, stepping up onto that final podium for second overall.
We raced with the hope of winning not the fear of losing. It was an ethos the whole team had to adopt, and we aren’t the only ones. I recognise it in the other women I race with, the teams of people behind each event, every family, fan, and sponsor. I see it when, like at this year's Giro, there are bigger crowds, more community engagement, better media coverage, and challenging courses. I feel it when the women's peloton delivers an exciting show and world-class performances. I feel it when I'm the first African to podium at a Grand Tour.
If there is just one thing the organisers of the Giro Rosa and the incredible teams that raced it proved that Cervelo Bigla's success proves it's that, if you choose to let it, hope will guide you to incredible places.
Podium at Fleche Wallonne
Danger, danger, danger, danger… I could feel a prickle of panic rise up in my body as Canyon’s lead out into the Côte de Cherave unleashed a threatening breakaway. We weren’t represented. Up until now the day had gone perfectly but, with 30km to go, that was rapidly changing.
We were down to two riders, Cecile and myself, having recently lost our other key player Marie in a crash. I had been lucky to avoid the stack but with only two pairs of legs and a 25 second gap no one wanted to close, the odds didn’t look good. Still, we had one card to play.
In the effort of her life, Cecille drove the pace on the front of the bunch. With barely any help from other riders, she rode herself into the ground, but managed to keep the gap steady and the break within striking distance. As we climbed up the Côte de Cherave for the last time, I passed Cecille and knew the rest was up to me.
We bounded onto the Mur de Huy. The breakaway was just in front of us, the catch timed perfectly, and I fed off the energy my team had put in to get me there. This was as high stakes as it gets. Go too early on the steep Mur and you can literally blow up in the last 100m and lose the race. I was the first rider to make contact with the break, and as we all merged and split again it was Megan Guarnier, Anna van der Breegen, Annemiek van Vleuten, and me. The climb got steeper as I took the lead.
The average gradient of the Mur is 9.6% but there are parts up to 26%. The steeper it is, the more each pedal stroke hurts but the steeper it is, the better it suits me. We had planned exactly where I would attack. I had watched past videos of past winners. I had landmarked the brick building on the left as my signal. There comes a point where you have to push all the chips in and this was it.
Except I was boxed in. Pinned to the barriers and then stuck behind in second wheel, Boels did an excellent job of keeping me right where I couldn’t attack. I tried to go left, then right, then left. “Let me out,” I wanted to scream. Catching a sliver of space, I slammed my pedals and aggressively slipped through a small gap on the left. My attack point had come and gone and with only 150m to go, it was time for everyone to lay their cards on the table. Anna van der Breggen sprinted into first while I gave everything to proudly finish second.
I’d love to win but second at Flèche Wallonne is fantastic, especially after the team worked unbelievably well. Let me just say that I got up on the podium as an individual, but I wasn’t just up there as Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio; I was on the podium representing the 10-person kick-ass Cervelo-Bigla team (staff included) that finished second in a World Tour race. Guess we played our cards right.
Commonwealth Games 2018
Ashleigh on her way to win Bronze in the Commonwealth Games Road Race in Glasgow
I never thought I would have to give up an opportunity to represent my country at the Commonwealth Games. It is such a privilege to qualify, even more so to be selected to represent your country at a world event. Thinking about the last Commonwealth Games where I won my bronze medal, I get a rush of emotion. Undoubtedly, it was a breakthrough race in my career and getting up on that podium was big moment for me, my family, and everyone who helped get me to the start line. I felt so much pride as a an athlete, as a South African, and a as a woman.
I will not be competing at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. For the past few months, I’ve had multiple discussions with my trade team, Cervelo Bigla, and SASCOC and, after exhausting all possible scenarios, we have decided focusing on my goals in Europe is the best path for success.
SASCOC and my team have both been very supportive and patient during the decision making process. We considered how the road race course didn’t suit me, especially against the depth of the big cycling nations such as Great Britain and Australia. We considered just going to compete in time trial but it’s a specialist discipline that needed more preparation time than we had available. We also considered that April is the most important racing for me during the European season. Everyone at Cervelo Bigla, myself included, have been working towards specific goals during the Spring Classics and I would have to abandon my team and my position as lead rider during those key races. Add in the toll of travel, jet lag, and the high personal expenses I would incur and we all knew what the logical conclusion was.
It took a long time to accept that the math just didn’t add up. I knew a while ago in my heart the best thing to do was to miss Commonwealth, but it took a lot longer to make the official decision. In the end, it wasn’t about choosing one over the other; it was about choosing where I could be the most successful, where I could be the best athlete I could be, where I could represent my country in the best possible way. I know not everyone will understand but I hope everyone will respect the decision we have arrived at.