Stage win, overall lead for Moolman Pasio
Ashleigh Moolman Pasio (Nashua Toyota) became the surprise leader of the Le Coq Sportif Tour de Boland without even turning a pedal on Thursday, following the withdrawal of overnight leader Cherise Taylor before the start of Stage 3.
But she put in a superb ride on the demanding stage, winning in dominant fashion to prove that she deserves the Clover Women’s category race leader’s jersey.
As a climbing specialist, Moolman Pasio was always expected to shine on the third stage of the race, which included two ascents of the Franschhoek Pass between Paarl and Villiersdorp. And she did just that. The two long climbs combined with the strong winds made for tough conditions.
On the first ascent of Franschhoek Pass early on in the 120km stage, Moolman Pasio climbed at the front of the Category 2 pack (which sees women grouped with Juniors and Veteran men). Then, shortly after claiming the Queen of the Mountains prime, she got into a move off the front with two Juniors and two Veterans.
The five-rider group worked well together to establish a healthy lead over the chasing peloton. They stayed away until the finish where Moolman Pasio clocked a winning time of two hours, 34 minutes and 58 seconds.
The next woman home was Moolman Pasio’s Nashua Toyota teammate, Joanna van de Winkel, who crashed when a veteran male rider crashed into her on the second descent of Franschhoek Pass. She finished 4min 29sec behind and moved up from third to second in the General Classification. Third place on the stage went to MTN Qhubeka’s Lylani Lauwrens, who also moved up to third overall.
“It was a good day for me. I felt strong and getting into that move early on turned out to be the best thing I could have done,” smiled Moolman Pasio, who said she was disappointed not to have been able to challenge Taylor for the race lead.
“It’s unfortunate that Cherise pulled out. It’s never nice taking the lead by default. I think today would have been a great opportunity for a good duel between us,” she added. “I rode really hard today. I took all my turns in the break and never once sat on the back. The guys I was with appreciated that and in the long run, it will benefit us women to race that hard.”
Friday’s final stage is a criterium around a 3km circuit in Paarl for the Category 2 riders.
“I don’t need to be aggressive tomorrow, but I will stay near the front and out of trouble. My lead is quite healthy but you can never assume anything so we’ll be racing with a combination of confidence and caution,” said Moolman Pasio, who also leads the Queen of the Mountains and Point Competitions.
STAGE 3 RESULTS - WOMEN
1 Ashleigh Moolman Pasio (Nashua Toyota) 2hr 34min 58sec
2 Joanna van de Winkel (Nashua Toyota)
3 Lylani Lauwrens (MTN Qhubeka) both @ 4min 29sec
OVERALL STANDINGS - WOMEN
1 Ashleigh Moolman Pasio (Nashua Toyota) 10hr 45min 54sec
2 Joanna van de Winkel (Nashua Toyota) @ 4min 37sec
3 Lylani Lauwrens (MTN Qhubeka) @ 5min 10sec
4 An-Li Pretorius (MTN Qhubeka) @ 5min 19sec
5 Lise Olivier (MTN Qhubeka) @ 19min 29sec