Moolman Pasio seals Tour de Boland victory
Ashleigh Moolman Pasio won the final stage of the Le Coq Sportif Tour de Boland road cycling stage race in Paarl on Friday and with it, secured the overall title, the Queen of the Mountains and Points Competition titles.
The Nashua Toyota team rider won the sprint on the short final 60km circuit race in Paarl. Second was her teammate, Joanna van de Winkel with An-Li Pretorius (MTN Qhubeka) in third.
Racing in Category 2, with the Veteran and Junior men, the women were forced into a reactionary mode as two Veterans and two Juniors broke clear in the second half of the race in a last-ditch effort to reshuffle the General Classification. The race format followed 20 laps of a tight 3km circuit.
“It was quite a fast, intense stage. I was more interested in avoiding any problems than trying to finish high up on the stage. I wasn’t over cautious, but I was aware of the other women and just wanted to ensure I knew where they were at all times,” explained a delighted Moolman Pasio afterwards.
“I was well positioned when we started the sprint and it feels good to win the final stage and the overall title. It really was a tough tour and very important for the improvement of South African women’s racing as there are so few stage races that cater for women in this country.”
Runner-up overall was Van de Winkel, who showed that the tougher the race, the brighter she shines. Third place was decided on Friday’s final stage when Pretorius knocked her MTN Qhubeka teammate, Lylanie Lauwrens off the podium.
Moolman Pasio heads to Europe next week where she will begin racing for the Lotto team in Belgium as part of the Cycle Lab Supercycling Club’s rider exchange programme. Lotto is one of the top women’s teams in the world and this will be Moolman Pasio’s second season with the team.
“This race has certainly helped me achieve good form,” said Moolman Pasio. Four days of hard racing in a row like that can’t be duplicated with regular training. I’m excited about racing in Europe where almost every race is as tough as this one has been.”
Final General Classification:
1 Ashleigh Moolman Pasio (Nashua Toyota) 12hr 19min 44sec
2 Joanna van de Winkel (Nashua Toyota) @ 4min 41sec
3 An-Li Pretorius (MTN Qhubeka) @ 5min 29sec
4 Lylani Lauwrens (MTN Qhubeka) @ 5min 31sec
5 Lise Olivier (MTN Qhubeka) @ 20min 02sec