DVT-sponsored athlete Ashleigh Moolman claimed the title of South African women's cycling champion at the 2012 South Africa Road Championship, in Nelspruit, on 3 March.
The 26-year-old, who comes from Riebeek Kasteel in the Western Cape and races for the Momentum Toyota team, won the challenging 110km race in a sprint finish with a time of 3:22:44, taking her first title of SA women's champ.
The win, followed by a strategically easy training week, bodes well for Moolman's next race, the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour, on 11 March, in which she hopes to achieve top honours.
With the Argus behind her, Moolman will travel to Europe to race the international circuit for her third season.
“Europe is the heart of international cycling,” says Moolman. “Spending six months of the year cycling with and against top international riders has been an incredible opportunity, and has allowed me to gain experience that is invaluable. Competing in UCI-accredited races across Europe enables me to earn points and improve not only my personal ranking on the international circuit, but also South Africa's ranking for Olympic qualification.”
Always one to set her goals high, Moolman's cycling dream has always been to compete at the London 2012 Olympics. A mere five years since she started cycling, the talented athlete has achieved a rapid upward curve in the South African cycling ranks, and is now in the third year of her professional cycling career.
“I started cycling in 2008 when I was studying for my chemical engineering degree. I soon realised that I absolutely loved the sport and that I had potential, and I went pro as soon as I had graduated,” she says.
In Europe, Moolman plans to be based in Girona, Spain, where she will be racing for Belgian team Lotto Belisol.
“The European season runs from March through to September, and I intend to carefully plan my build-up and peaking with the Olympics at the forefront of my mind.”
Moolman emphasises the critical importance of mental preparation for racing success. She believes that talent, commitment and dedication to training are not enough to win races - it is mental strength that makes a winner.
“I also believe it's important to keep looking at the bigger picture. It's easy to get too wrapped up in a race, particularly if it doesn't go quite as well as planned, and to start looking for excuses and things to blame. I try not to do that. When I finish a race, I analyse how it went, I learn the lessons, and I move forward. It's crucial to focus on the positives if you want to achieve,” says Moolman.
DVT CEO Chris Wilkins sees Moolman as a remarkable inspiration.
“Every year, DVT selects a cyclist to sponsor. Ashleigh has been that person for the past two years, simply because she is such a great inspiration for everyone - she's a complete overachiever, and as a company, DVT is proud to be associated with someone of such motivational spirit,” says Wilkins.
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