Samantha Sanders started cycling in 2006, while studying at TUKS in Pretoria. Having raced moto-x and enduro as a young girl and throughout high school, Samantha can positively claim that racing on two wheels is in her blood.
Samantha Sanders
Vital Stats
Date of birth:
21-08-1983
Hometown:
Hoedspruit,
Mpumalanga
Currently lives:
Hoedspruit
Team:
Valencia
She started cycling during her university years to keep fit, but her passion developed when she competed in her first cross-country race at Fountains, in Pretoria.
There are so many people, events and words that Sam finds inspirational, and she tries to find something positive, motivational and inspiring each day. “I think you need that when every day is spent working towards a goal.”
Samantha’s training time varies, depending on what her training block is focused on. An endurance-training week could be anything over 15 hours, while a power-focused week will be much less.
Her greatest personal achievements are when she obtains goals that she has been working toward. “Sometimes beating a personal best in a training session is a massive personal achievement. For me, it’s the small things like that which keep me motivated, not always huge wins.” Sam also lists her current SA Elite National XCO Champion title as one of her greatest achievements.
The hardest part of being a woman cyclist?
“It seems that the majority of people seem to think that because the guys put in faster lap times, they race harder and train harder, when women put in the same time and effort. Getting sponsorships is quite challenging too.”
I have no intention of taking anything away from Samantha or any of the other ladies acknowledged in this series of articles, but I would like to know why our own Fire who many on the Hub helped get to T-Town, and who has more SA Titles to her name than that the majority of ladies mentioned was not also acknowledged in this series ?
It is another example of how Track is the forgotten discipline in SA Cycling.
What more does she need to do to get recognition for her hard work ?