Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. <\/p>\n
This is how Lynette Burger (Toyota CSA Academy) jokingly describes her cycling career.<\/p>\n
\u201cName the race and there is a very good chance that I will be able to tell a story about how I finished second,\u201d Burger said. \u201cOne of the worst disappointments of my cycling career was when I finished second in the Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is the one race that I would really like to win before I retire as a serious cyclist. Ever since I took up cycling, the first thing that everybody always asked the moment they heard that I was a cyclist, was whether I have competed in the 94.7 Cycle Challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis race has become one of the cornerstones of South African cycling and a must-do for every cyclist who is serious about the sport. For me the Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge is the most special race on the local calendar. It is a celebration of cycling and the only time that Johannesburg\u2019s roads belong solely to the cyclists.\u201d<\/p>\n
Burger is overly modest when she refers to herself as the \u201cSilver Maiden\u201d of South African cycling. A study of this season\u2019s racing results reveals that she is currently one of the in-form riders.<\/p>\n
So far this season not a weekend has gone by without Burger standing somewhere on the winners\u2019 podium. A definite highlight for her was when she won two gold medals (road as well as time-trial) at the UCI Age Group World Championship in Pietermaritzburg.<\/p>\n
Her status as perpetual bridesmaid will change irrevocably in real life this weekend when she is getting married to Dave Pieterse.<\/p>\n
Who knows. Perhaps Lynette Pieterse, the new bride, will be able to utilise this opportunity to change her cycling status from that of bridesmaid to bride as well, when she competes in the Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge on 18 November.<\/p>\n
According to her the Cycle Challenge is one of the most difficult races to win. \u201cThe standard of local women\u2019s cycling is improving year after year, especially now that many of the riders are based in Europe for a few months every year. It is also a fact that this is the one race that everybody wants to win.”<\/p>\n
\u201cBy November the season has been very long and we as cyclists just want to get the race done and dusted so that we can all take a well-deserved break. This is another reason why the racing tends to become more aggressive.\u201d When asked what the secret is for a good Cycle Challenge, Burger\u2019s answer was short and sweet: \u201cStay alert all the time, because you never know when the deciding break will take place.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the past few years the race was won by a rider who managed to get away in a small group.\u201d<\/p>\n