Ashleigh: The gap is closing

Though she admitted they had targeted a higher step on the podium, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (above) was delighted with the progress made by her trade outfit after they grabbed the bronze medal in the team time trial at the Road Cycling World Championships in Bergen on Sunday.

The Cervelo-Bigla Pro Cycling team took third place for the second year in a row, on the opening day of the annual showpiece.

After finishing nearly two minutes behind the winners in Doha last season, they managed to reduce the deficit and were 28sec slower than gold medallists Sunweb in the 42.5km contest.

“Of course we have the same medal as last year and would have liked better but the positive is we’re that much closer now,” Moolman-Pasio said.

“Last year the gap to the gold medal was a lot bigger and every year we’re just getting closer.

“We have a really young team so I think we can be proud of our effort.”

Daryl Impey, the only other South African in the team time trials, finished fifth with Orica-Scott in the men’s battle.

A former silver and bronze medallist, he missed out on his third career podium finish in the event.

With riders having turned out for their professional teams on day one, they would compete for their national squads at the remainder of the eight-day annual championships.