South Africa names teams for World Championships

Cycling South Africa has named the team that they will be sending to the World Championships in Ponferrada, at the end of September.

Reinhardt Janse van Rensburg, Jacques Janse van Rensburg and Jay Thompson fill the three spots available in the elite men's category. Both Jacques Janse van Rensburg and Thompson are both making their debuts at the Vuelta a Espana, as MTN-Qhubeka make history as the first African-registered team to ride a Grand Tour.

A notable omission from the team is experienced rider Daryl Impey. The Orica-GreenEdge rider has been suspended from racing after he tested positive for Probenecid at the South African Championships. Impey has not received any sanctions, but three days before the Tour de France the Australian team announced that both A and B samples had tested positive. He was immediately pulled from the team and was unable to ride the Grand Tour.

Louis Meintjes heads to Ponferrada, hoping that he can go one better in the under-23 competition. The 22-year-old made it into the break with Matej Mohoric, who now rides for Cannondale. The pair were able to stay away, but Meintjes was bettered by the Slovenian in the finale. As he now races for a WorldTour team, Mohoric will not be able to defend his title. Along with his MTN-Qhubeka teammates in the elite squad, Meintjes is about to make his Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta a España, which begins with a team time trial on Saturday evening.

Leading the women’s team will be Ashleigh Moolman Pasio. The Hitec Products rider showed last month that she is in good form, after she pipped Tiffany Cromwell to the final medal spot in the Commonwealth Games road race. Moolman Pasio will be supported by An-Li Kachelhoffer and Heidi Dalton, and could be a dark horse for the podium in the road race.

The World Championships run from September 21-28, beginning with the team time trial and ending with the men’s road race.

South Africa for the World Championships:

Elite Men
Reinhardt Janse van Rensburg
Jacques Janse van Rensburg
Jay Thompson

Under 23
Louis Meintjes
Jayde Julius
Kevin Patten
Willie Smit

Elite Women
Ashleigh Moolman Pasio
An-Li Kachelhoffer
Heidi Dalton

Junior Men
Gustav Basson
Ivan Venter
Graeme Ockhuis
Stefan de Bod (Non Traveling Reserve)

Junior Women
Monique Gerber
Michelle Benson
Catherine Colyn

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*

Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets

After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Join now for unlimited access

Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1