Team Bestmed-ASG will be focused on making a major impact on the South African cycling scene this year, having signed up a new-look outfit of elite riders. Grabbing their immediate attention will be the SA National Road Championships in Wellington this week, where team leader and Olympian An-Li Kachelhoffer will be defending her road race title on Saturday. Team manager Owen Botha said they would also be looking further ahead to the Bestmed Tour of Good Hope from 6–10 March , as well as the Cape Town Cycle Tour on 12 March.
“We know it is always a tough task to retain the national title, but we will be targeting that for An-Li this weekend. From then on we will use a number of races to sharpen us for our objectives in March.”
Owen said the team’s focus this year would be to create a strong, cohesive unit which could make its presence felt, under the leadership of its Belgian manager, Steven Sergeant .
“All the riders are elites and the aim is to support An-Li, who has all the credentials to do well. She also wants to pass on her knowledge to the other riders to give them the benefit of her experience.”
Besides signing An-Li, he said they had also brought in Zanele Tshoko and Skye Davidson.
“We have been keen to get Zanele to join us but she was committed elsewhere for the past two years. In fact, we tried to get Lise Olivier to sign with Zanele because they have done a lot of work together in the past, but Lise is taking a different path, going into the corporate world at this stage.”
Owen said he had seen Skye in action and noticed her climbing skills, even though she was relatively tall.
“We needed someone like that to assist An-Li as a powerful domestique to provide some protection. Skye has a very good CV and plenty of ‘vooma’.”
He said they believe Skye has the right qualities and their aim would be to teach her how to handle the longer distances now that she is an elite.
Speaking at the official launch of the team in Pretoria, Owen added that they had also signed Bernette Beyers, who is currently in Switzerland on a training programme to improve her track cycling skills. She is due to return in April.
The team made its debut at the Bestmed Berge en Dale Championship on Saturday, with An-Li achieving a second place on the podium in a sprint finish.
As the senior rider in the team, An-Li said she saw her role more in a mentoring capacity than anything else.
“At the age of 29, I feel this is a chance for me to give back to some younger riders because I know my career can’t last forever. We are a diverse team and it will be nice for the younger riders to learn about a team environment and how a professional women’s team is run.”
She said she wanted to impart her experience of riding in Europe to the younger riders so they would know what to expect when competing overseas.
An-Li also said they had a good first race at the Berge en Dale in Muldersdrift.
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