Cramps put paid to Ashleigh’s chances

Having lined up as the nation’s best medal hope at the Road Cycling World Championships, elite rider Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio admitted she was disappointed to finish off the pace in Innsbruck at the weekend.

Making a lone South African charge up front, Moolman-Pasio battled with cramps during the women’s 156km race on Saturday, settling for 17th place after struggling to put up a fight against fullstrength teams from other countries.

She crossed the line in a small group more than seven minutes off the pace of Dutch rider Anna van der Breggen, who made a break in the latter stages to win convincingly, adding the world title to the Olympic gold medal she secured in Rio two years ago.

“Disappointing worlds for me, but I was realistic before the start,” Moolman-Pasio posted on social media.

“All the odds were stacked against me with no team support. My only hope was that team tactics played to my advantage.

“In the end it wasn’t my day for many reasons.”

The former Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, who signed with Dutch-based team CCC last month after spending four seasons with the Cervelo-Bigla outfit, said she was looking forward to racing with her new squad next year.

“Onwards to a new season with a new awesome team,” Moolman-Pasio said.

Meanwhile, there were no SA men in the chase for the line in the elite men’s 258km road race yesterday, with a number of domestic stars having withdrawn from the national team in the build-up to the global championships.

In their absence, Spaniard Alejandro Valverde earned his maiden world title after previously securing six silver and bronze medals.

Earlier in the week at the eightday showpiece, Stefan de Bod was the best of the South African riders, finishing eighth in the Under-23 men’s individual time trial and taking 18th place in the U-23 road race.