Local cycling legend ASHLEIGH MOOLMAN PASIO tells us why she ’ s so excited to be chasing yellow in the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift – and why SD Worx will be the team to beat .
Ash , we all know it ’ s taken way too long – but at last we have a proper women ’ s race on the greatest stage . What does this mean for women ’ s cycling ? The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is really a pivotal moment for women ’ s cycling . We finally have our own Tour de France , which is without a doubt the biggest race in the world . It ’ s the one race that everybody watches all around the world every year . And for too many years , it ’ s only been for men .
When I started getting into cycling I would lie on the couch in the July university
holidays watching the Tour – watching male idols take on these gruelling stages and dreaming of one day being there . The fact is , that dream wasn ’ t real because I was watching men . So the real significance is that now , finally , young girls will be able to watch women taking on these epic stages .
The importance of that is that it will allow young girls to aspire to become professional cyclists . It gives them the sense that it can actually be a career choice and hopefully it motivates them to want to be like us one day . And that ’ s when the depth in the sport starts to grow , and women ’ s cycling really moves forward . It will also give our sport more exposure , and allow the world to see women ’ s cycling at its finest , because for sure it ’ s going to be a big show . We are all super excited for the Tour de France Femmes , and I ’ m sure that we ’ re going to race our hearts out every single day because we ’ ve been waiting so long for this .
What ’ s your take on the route ? It was amazing to attend the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift launch . The organisers really gave equal spotlight to the men and women . It was our first taste of being part of the spectacle of the Tour .
I think ASO have done a fantastic job of putting together a well-balanced route . It ’ s different to the men ’ s , but that ’ s good in that I don ’ t think women ’ s cycling should imitate men ’ s cycling . Obviously we can work together or benefit from each another , but we are two different sports . I think the fact that the men finish on the Champs-Élysées and we start on the Champs-Élysées is cool because our Femmes race continues the Tour de France for another week .
The start in the centre of Paris will be pretty hectic . Although the Champs- Élysées appears to be just one big sprint and super flat , it ’ s not , it ’ s really hard . It ’ s on cobbles and the cobbles
Ashleigh in the SA champion ’ s jersey at the 2019 La Course by Le Tour ; on the La Course podium in 2018 with Anna van der Breggen and Annemiek van Vleuten ; celebrating a stage win and second in the GC at the Giro d ’ Italia Donne in 2021 .
gradually drag upwards to the finish line . So it ’ s going to be a tough day and will start the Femmes tour with a real bang .
Then there ’ s a little bit of everything . There are long flat stages for the sprinters as well as punchy stages . There ’ s gravel and there are intermediate climbing stages , and there will be windy days . And then it all culminates in this crazy hard mountain-top finish on La Super Planche des Belles Filles , which will make a thrilling finale .
I think it ’ s going to be exciting right down to the last day as the yellow jersey could change hands a few times . It ’ s going to create a great show for fans .
Who , if any , South African riders , mechanics , soigneurs or others might be at the event ? In terms of riders , I ’ m hoping Frances Janse van Rensburg will start in the peloton alongside me . She races for the French team Stade Rochelais Charente- Maritime and , although they ’ re not a World Tour team , they have a wild card entry to the Tour de France Femmes . It ’ ll be cool to have another South African in the peloton , and even better that she ’ ll be in the national champs jersey .
Megan Earl will be there as Head Soigneur for Ceratizit – WNT Pro Cycling , and probably also Ian Duxbury , who ’ s a mechanic for FDJ .
Who in your mind are the chief protagonists ? There are plenty of us who would like to win it ! It ’ s going to be a historical race . I ’ m certainly going for the overall yellow jersey . It ’ s a big goal for me and it would be super special to win this premiere edition .
My teammate Demi Vollering will also be targeting the GC win . SD Worx will be a really strong team and I think we will put in a very strong performance . We have more than one card to play , and should be able to outperform a rider like Annemiek van Vleuten , who will be one of
PHOTOGRAPHS : JOJO HARPER , THOMAS MAHEUX / ASO , JA DELEVAUX / ASO , TORNANTI . CC
22 | TOUR DE FRANCE 2022