goooo Ashleigh......

[BarHugger]

It has been proven over and over in SA that our riders (or actually in most sports) improve a hell of a lot when going to compete at that level. If you stay and only ride in SA and not push the boundaries you will not improve or not know your true potential.

 

Not really true........although you do need the experience. But experience does not equate potential......the level of training (quality/quantity/methods,etc) determines your potential. An overly simplistic example as explanantion: if you are a 100m sprinter and your best time (performance) is 10sec dead, no matter how much experience you have, you will not be in the top finishers of a 100m race. In fact you will be last if you use the results of the last Olympic Games (9.63 1st - 9.98 7th). Experience will only be of an advantage for the unknown that competition throws at you at that level (tactics, psychological, etc). Experience can sometimes be compared to the luck factor.......and someone (GP) said that "the more I train the luckier I get." Going abroad might mean that you will be exposed to better coaching and training techniques that improve your performance (and also realising that you are not as good as you thought you are). Examples of this would be our swimmers that initially started performing at international level, all trained in the USA, Frankie Fredericks (Namibian 100m sprinter) trained in USA, etc. If you know what the standard for elite performance (strength, speed, power, endurance, technical skill, etc) in a competition is, train for it.......and you can do most of that training in South Africa (if planned properly).

 

Our rowers in the last Olympics serves as a good example of knowing what is needed to perform.

Edited August 4, 2014 by BarHugger

[hayleyearth]

Yes, to see Ashley make the podium will boost cycling, but to see 5 not even making it...not so much

 

Well I see it as...

 

'it all starts with a 'can do' attitude, not a position on the podium'

 

To explain for those who won't inderstand it....most of the people on podiums now were't there from their 1st race, but it started with a "I can do this" feeling inside them. Many people on the podiums over this last weekend has also started and not finished races (even if you only look in the last year). BUT it is determination that get them there again.

 

Most of those other girls when competing on local grounds are competition to Ashley (looking only at the last few Argus Cycle Tour results), but fell behind this weekend (and at other international races)...why? (Rethorical question)

 

Anyway....I am a HUGE Ashley fan. She is a great lady. Super smart and work extreamly hard. I love the fact that she doesn't need a team to perform and when you watch her ride the local races even the guys uses her slip stream because she is working up front all the time.

[worriesnot]

:clap: :clap:

[Eldron]

I'll never understand this "to get experience" thing at championships.

 

You send riders to europe for weeks/months at a time to gain experience. You send them to championships to win medals - or support the medal winners. A once off hit gains you very little - Cherise gained 1 lap's worth of experience (Was she sick? She would normally hang in much longer than that).

 

Ashley is winning because she has slogged it in the trenches in europe for months on end.

[CAAD4]

Cherise dislocated her fingers and fractured her wrist the day before, as fas as I know...

[Pieterg]

Super Super !!!!!

[Gen]

Cherise dislocated her fingers and fractured her wrist the day before, as fas as I know...

 

Only heard about the dislocated fingers.

[hayleyearth]

I'll never understand this "to get experience" thing at championships.

 

You send riders to europe for weeks/months at a time to gain experience. You send them to championships to win medals - or support the medal winners. A once off hit gains you very little - Cherise gained 1 lap's worth of experience (Was she sick? She would normally hang in much longer than that).

 

Ashley is winning because she has slogged it in the trenches in europe for months on end.

 

Exactly my point!

 

[unfortunatly not all the other athletes have family support and finacial back up to afford an appartment in Itally (last I heard that is where it is). Not all can stay "months at end".]

[Bat-ass]

Great SA ambassador..... I just wish the sport of ladies cycling had a bigger viwership in general. She should be a household name.

[GaryvdM]

Exactly my point!

 

[unfortunatly not all the other athletes have family support and finacial back up to afford an appartment in Itally (last I heard that is where it is). Not all can stay "months at end".]

 

Not sure if you are talking about Ashleigh or not, but she has a pro contract with the Hitec Products team, so I imagine it's that contract that is providing the finacial backing, not family money.

[Gen]

 

 

Exactly my point!

 

[unfortunatly not all the other athletes have family support and finacial back up to afford an appartment in Itally (last I heard that is where it is). Not all can stay "months at end".]

 

I mean no disrespect to any of the girls that can't go over to europe when I say that then they need to be far more realistic about their prospects.

 

Wasn't Cherise in Europe for a while.. as far as I can remember she didn't like it and came back and gave up road racing to focus in mtb.. okay yes then Burry died and we all know that this past yr has been very hard on the girl mentally.

Edited August 4, 2014 by Gen

[SwissVan]

Oh woman there is no pleasing everybody... some whinge when they don't send a team and the rest whinge when they send a team....

[Gen]

It is not a easy sport to make it.. they have zero backing from SASCOC same as our tennis players. . The tennis players try going pro via bursaries through american varsities. And half the time that doesn't work out. I personally know of one girl that had half her studies paid through a varsity in the states.. she ended up tearing a muscle and couldn't play tennis for a couple of months and her scholarship was cut. . That was it.. cheers either pay all of it yourself or go back to SA.

 

So my point is it is tough. . They have to understand that and realise it's that will you need to make it work and even then it is not guaranteed.

Edited August 4, 2014 by Gen

[JA-Q001]

Don't blame the people that was chosen to go and represent for not always living up to your expectations, they were given the opportunity, because one of our Girls ranked top 5, so SASCOC said that they can send a full compliment to try and support, so they sent the best that this country has got.

 

I feel that most of them did well with what they have to their disposal and that was mostly only local MTB races, something that will never get you conditioned, but its better for Ashley to be on the start line as one of the favorites, with team mates around you and thinking, I have a chance, than to stand there alone and think, there is no chance.

 

I feel more saddened that before the previous Olympics, everything was done to try and qualify more ladies. We had a international ladies tour, we had almost 5 local ladies teams and women were made to work harder to win races on various ways. But all of that has fallen away and we barely have one ladies team left, cycling SA has rather let our Ladies down and they still made us proud.

[Mntboy]

 

Not sure if you are talking about Ashleigh or not, but she has a pro contract with the Hitec Products team, so I imagine it's that contract that is providing the finacial backing, not family money.

Don't think Ms Earth is referring Ashleigh but to the likes of Anriette, Cherise and An-li. Heidi is also now starting to race in Europe so hopefully things will start improving for our ladies in these big races.

[rock]

if we're talking experience then the young Dalton lady was a good choice, but there were others there that have represented SA many times overseas at worlds etc

 

and just to be clear I know I wouldn't be able to keep up with anyone of them on a bike.....