Johannesburg – The provisional cycling squad to represent SA at the 2015 UCI Road World Championships in Virginia, US, in September has been announced.
International body, UCI allocates starting slots for each country, and the final team will be determined by the number of slots available to SA, which is expected to be released by Thursday, August 20.
The city of Richmond will host the championships, the race returning to the US for the first time since 1986, when they were held in Colorado Springs.
Racing begins on September 20 with the men and women’s team time trials, and culminates with the men’s elite road race on the final Sunday.
Included in the men’s team are 2015 Tour de France riders Daryl Impey, although he had to pull out after a bad crash, and Reinardt Janse van Rensburg, part of MTN-Qhubeka outfit who were a revelation in their debut tour.
And SA’s leading women’s roadster, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, who has been having a great European season with the Bigla team, is one of three elite women. She recently rode to fourth spot in the prestigious Giro Rosa stage event in Italy.
The full provisional squad is:
Elite Men: Daryl Impey, Reinardt Janse van Rensburg, Jaco Venter
Under 23: Nicholas Dlamini, Ryan Gibbons, Jayde Julius, Morne van Niekerk
Elite Women: Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, Cherise Stander, An-Li Kachelhoffer
Junior Men: Keagan Girdlestone, Greg de Vink, Kyle de Wet, Jarrod Hattingh
Manager: Robbie Hunter
Mechanic: Siyona Tanduxolo
– ANA