Ashleigh Moolman Pasio

She tried to start a career in triathlon but after discovering her talent in cycling, and a series of injuries, dedicated herself fully to professional road cycling.^[8]

At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, she won the bronze medal in the women's road race and finished 15th in the women's individual time trial.^[9][10]

After spending one season riding for Team Hitec Products, in September 2014 it was announced that Moolman had signed an initial two-year deal with the Bigla Pro Cycling Team from 2015.^[11]

In 2018, she finished second overall in the Giro Rosa,^[12] and La Flèche Wallonne Féminine.^[13] She also took the final podium place at La Course by Le Tour de France.^[14] She took two victories during the season, winning La Classique Morbihan and the Grand Prix de Plumelec-Morbihan on consecutive days,^[15] just as she had done in 2017.^[16]

In 2019, Moolman Pasio won her fifth South African National Road Race Championships title, and her first since 2015, finishing almost two minutes clear of her closest rival in Tshwane.^[17] Moolman Pasio took two further victories during the season, winning July's Emakumeen Nafarroako Klasikoa, and then won the time trial at the African Games the following month. She finished third overall at both the Setmana Ciclista Valenciana,^[18] and the Tour of California,^[19] fourth overall at the Giro Rosa,^[20] and fifth in La Course by Le Tour de France.^[21]

In 2020, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic-enforced suspension of racing, Moolman Pasio won her sixth South African National Road Race Championships title, as well as a fifth title in the South African National Time Trial Championships.

In September 2020, Moolman Pasio signed a two-year contract with the Boels–Dolmans team, later renamed SD Worx, from the 2021 season.^[22]

At the 2021 Giro Rosa, Moolman Pasio finished second overall as part of a SD Worx clean sweep of the podium.^[23] Having finished second to teammate Anna van der Breggen on the second stage to the ski resort of Prato Nevoso,^[24] Moolman Pasio soloed to a stage victory – her first victory at the race – on the penultimate day, a summit finish on the Matajur.^[25] She ultimately finished 1' 43" down on Van der Breggen, while also finishing second in the mountains classification behind Lucinda Brand.^[26] She also finished second at the Ladies Tour of Norway, having been the closest competitor to Annemiek van Vleuten on the uphill finish to the Norefjell ski resort, before being dropped with around 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) to go.^[27]

Moolman Pasio recorded top-ten finishes in each of her first six starts in 2022, the best of which was a podium finish – third place – at Strade Bianche.^[28] In July, she was named as one of the pre-race favourites for the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes.^[29] She finished third on the third stage,^[30] but withdrew from the race before the final stage due to illness.^[31] She finished the season with a stage win and the overall victory at the inaugural Tour de Romandie Féminin, her first victories on the UCI Women's World Tour.^[32] She dropped Annemiek van Vleuten on the summit finish to Thyon, ultimately winning the stage by 26 seconds and the overall race the following day by 30 seconds – as a result, she became the first African rider to win on the UCI Women's World Tour.^[33]

Having previously stated that she was going to retire at the end of the 2022 season, Moolman Pasio signed a one-year contract for the 2023 season with AG Insurance–NXTG, later renamed AG Insurance–Soudal–Quick-Step.^[34] In her first race with the team, the Setmana Ciclista Valenciana, Moolman Pasio won the third stage of the race in a three-up sprint against Amanda Spratt and Annemiek van Vleuten.^[35] She ultimately finished the race second overall, one second down on teammate Justine Ghekiere.^[36] Moolman Pasio's next podium finishes came in Spain in May; she won another three-rider sprint, this time against Ane Santesteban and Claire Steels, to win Durango-Durango Emakumeen Saria,^[37] and then finished third overall at the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas later the same week.^[38]

Moolman Pasio has a degree in chemical engineering from Stellenbosch University, where she met her future husband,^[8] semi-professional XTERRA triathlete Carl Pasio. The couple own Rocacorba Cycling, a cyclotourism business, operating from a 17th-century estate in Porqueres, Spain.^[39][40]

Source: ^[41]

• Official website
• Ashleigh Moolman Pasio at UCI
• Ashleigh Moolman Pasio at ProCyclingStats
• Ashleigh Moolman Pasio at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
• Ashleigh Moolman Pasio at Cycling Archives
• Ashleigh Moolman Pasio at CQ Ranking