Podcast | ASHLEIGH MOOLMAN-PASIO

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Earlier this year, we had the pleasure of speaking with South African professional cyclist Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio after she joined the Castelli equipped AG Insurance - Soudal Quick-Step team.

We covered a bunch of exciting topics, like her journey into professional cycling, how Zwift can help boost cycling performance, her impressive QOM Strava record on the famous Rocacorba climb near Girona, her fantastic community-building efforts, and her dedication to empowering women's cycling.

We even got to dive into the world of the Rocacorba Cycling business and much more. It was such a fun and insightful conversation which we hope you’ll enjoy!

TOPICS COVERED & TRANSCRIPT

(00:00) Welcome
(01:19) Ashleigh's journey into pro-cycling
(05:34) Rocacorba Cycling
(10:12) Rocacorba Strava QOM
(12:20) AG Insurance - Soudal Quick-Step
(15:25) Women's and Virtual Cycling
(21:28) Dreaming
(23:09) Gabba Jacket

Soren
Hello everyone and welcome to this week's episode of the Castelli podcast, provided to you by the people behind the brand and the iconic product innovations. Earlier this year I had the pleasure of speaking with South African professional cyclist Ashleigh Moelman-Pasio after she joined the Castelli equipped AG Insurance team for a chat about her cycling career, how Zwift can help improve cycling performance, smashing the local Rocacorba Strava segment, Ashleigh's community building, the Rocacorba cycling business and more. Throughout her impressive pro career, Ashleigh has been victorious in many races and crowned the first ever women's eSports world cycling champion and has participated in prestigious events such as the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, Grand Tours and has been crowned South African national champion multiple times. The interview was recorded during the team training camp in Calpe in Spain in January and can also be watched on a YouTube channel. So sit back, relax and kick your feet up as we embark on a thrilling and insightful conversation with Ashleigh Moolman Pascio. Well, Ashley, first of all, thank you so much for taking the time to have a chat with me. Let's dive right in, considering the limited time we have for this interview. Could you take a moment and tell us a little bit about your history in cycling and how it led you here?

Ashleigh
Well, I mean, I got into cycling actually much later in life. I learned to ride a bike as a young kid and I used to play on the streets with friends riding my bike. But growing up, I never imagined that I'd be a pro cyclist. It was only at university that I actually discovered cycling as a sport or endurance sport. That was through my husband. We met at university. We were both studying engineering. He was a pro triathlete at the time and he introduced me to the first triathlon because that's what he was doing. So I just followed in his footsteps and had a go at a triathlon. But to be honest I very quickly realized that although I can swim, I'm not a fast swimmer, so that was a big disadvantage. And then also you know moved a little bit to do triathlon and running half marathons and combining that with riding. But I kept getting running injuries and so eventually you know it just sort of I was forced to focus mainly on cycling and it very quickly we realized both my husband and myself that I had really a talent for cycling and I suppose it came a lot to do with the fact that I have a good a really good power to weight So I'm small and petite which is often the disadvantage growing up at school like I wasn't strong enough or big enough But with cycling it was the perfect match, you know small petite but had a lot of power. So yeah, at university while I was studying engineering, actually process engineering, I started to explore training more, you know, with my husband Carl, with the University Cycling Club. I then started off by taking part in the university championships and winning that and then started racing local league races and ended up, you know, becoming really good and winning a lot of those races, and that's when I took it to the next level of racing nationally in South Africa. And when I got to my final year of studies, I had the opportunity to come over to France to race the Tour of Ardeche. When I came over to France to race here, I immediately fell in love with pro cycling in Europe. You know, the climbs were that much bigger, the roads are more technical. It was more of a challenge, you know, and suited me better as a rider. So as soon as I finished my studies, my husband and I made the move to Europe to pursue professional cycling.

Soren
When you made the transition to Europe, what was the first thing you did there?

Ashleigh
Well, actually, interestingly enough, my husband has Italian heritage. So from many, many years ago, it was his great-grandfather that came to South Africa during the war period and settled in South Africa. He had this idea growing up all along that he could have an Italian passport and he really pursued it very hard to get the Italian passport and managed to do that. He wanted to explore his heritage and to be in Italy so we first based ourselves just outside of Varese, so Lago Maggiore in northern Italy, close to Milan. It was really beautiful, I mean, it's a really beautiful part of Italy, the culture, the Italian culture is really special, we both really loved it and of course he could really resonate with it, you know, it was in his blood. But I think finally we just started to realize that we weren't necessarily living a very healthy lifestyle, you know, to become integrated into the community in Italy it's a little bit more challenging, especially if you don't speak the language You know it felt like we were living like an extended holiday, and it wasn't necessarily the healthiest life We didn't have good life balance You know we go riding in the most beautiful scenery and then come home You know and just sit in our apartment and not really know what to do And so that's when we just started to look a little bit You know further and elsewhere to try and find somewhere where you could have a slightly better life balance. And so after two years in Italy, we moved to Girona, Spain. Well, Girona is the province for us, not Girona town. I don't live in Girona town itself. I live just outside in a town called Banyoles. Which is also where you run your family business, right? Yeah, exactly. Through the cycling career, it became clear that it was a good career choice for me. I made really big steps quite fast in cycling, but my husband, Carl, started to realize that pro sport wasn't for him. So we just started to think about what the future looks like for us. When it comes to an end for me, what is the future for us and how can we try to benefit from all the contacts and experience that we have and all the time we spent cycling. How can we create a future for ourselves? So yeah I mean we'd ride around the beautiful roads of Girona and admire these beautiful stone villas and we started to think about it. Well you know it would be really amazing to own one of those and to create a cycling tourism business and in that way we could really share our passion for cycling.

Soren
Oh yeah, I've also seen and heard a lot of positive feedback from friends, industry partners and cycling fans who visited you at the Ruka Korva Cycling and loved the authentic atmosphere and accommodation within the ancient stone walls of your beautiful 17th century farmhouse which you guys renovated. But do you also find the time to relax, recover and unwind when you're at home, considering your commitments and racing as a professional cyclist? Ashleigh Yeah, it was kind of interesting because I've never really been a traditional pro cyclist. And in the first years of my career, a lot of people tried to convince me that I needed to change, that I needed to learn to focus only on cycling, and eat, sleep, dream cycling. But finally, actually, when I joined the Cervelo Bigler team in 2015, finally I found someone who really understood me, actually, in Thomas Campana. And he really started to engage with me and encourage me to talk about my ideas and thoughts. And so that's when I started to realize that to get the best out of me as an athlete, I need to have something else, you know, that's helping me occupy my mind. I don't know, it's a different kind of motivation that I get. I get motivation from feeling like I'm playing a role in creating change or it's not just about riding my bike and selfishly going after results. It's about results also helping me to have a bigger impact on the people around me or the industry as a whole.

Soren
The name Rooker Corber Cycling, is that because that the client is just outside your doorstep or are there other reasons for naming the business Rokakorba?

Ashleigh
Well, it's actually quite interesting because Rokakorba has been a big part of my life really from when we moved to the area in 2012. And being a climber, I generally like to find somewhere where I can do my intervals. Some people might think it's a bit boring, but I quite like having the comfort in knowing that you're doing your intervals somewhere where you can actually also see progress. So it's the same, it's kind of a controlled environment. So it's not only what your power means to tell you, but you're also seeing progress at different points on the road that you're getting to at different times of the season. So from the time that we moved to Banialis in Girona I immediately gravitated to Rocca Corbet as my climb, you know, where I would do my intervals and so yeah I mean I often spend at least two of the days in a week doing not necessarily the entire mountain but using it for my intervals. It was always a challenge for me Rocacorba, it's helped me to kind of evolve as a cyclist because it's been a way of measuring my progress but also a way of challenging me, a way of achieving certain things in terms of being the queen of the mountain. I've been the queen of the mountain since 2013 and so when we came across the property where we've started our business it was just an almost crazy coincidence that it happened to be literally at the bottom of the climb. Very quickly after we had acquired the property and we're starting to plan the business I just had this crazy thought in my mind well why don't we call it Rock and Core Recycling and actually at that time I thought this is crazy for sure it's not going to be possible you know someone's using the name for something else and it just it just so happened that we managed to you know get all the domains we needed to the Instagram's account for Rock and Core Recycling and so it was quite an easy decision.

Soren
Yeah I know it's true I was just checking here on Strava while you were talking and you placed yourself in the top 20 in the overall standing on the Rocacorba Strava segment ahead of many professional metal cyclists.

Ashleigh
Yeah, so it's actually a funny story because I was queen of the mountain, I think, like I said, from 2013, but it's not that every year I went back to set my new fastest time. But of course, when we started the business, Rocca Corpa Cycling, it started to become a little bit more relevant, being queen of the mountain, of course. And then during the COVID pandemic time, there was a really hard lockdown in Spain. And so I really embraced indoor cycling and I took to Zwift and I saw a lot of improvement actually in my cycling during this COVID pandemic time. For the very first day that we were allowed to ride outdoors again, I just had a crazy idea that I'm gonna go for the Queen of the Mountains to see if I could improve my time and how close I could get to 30 minutes and so I went literally the first ride outdoors after six weeks I went up Rocca Corbi to try and set the record and that attempt I got I think it was 32 minutes and which was already quite a big improvement from the previous QOM I had set which I think was almost 35 minutes. So I also recognized, well, you know, I think I could go faster because obviously from training a lot indoors, I was almost more accustomed to riding in my saddle. You know, it wasn't necessarily the most efficient climb because all the training had been done indoors. So it was in 2021, actually, after the Tokyo Olympic Games, I knew I was in really good form and I thought okay I'm gonna give another shot at Rocca Corba and I want to try and break 30 minutes and Yeah, it was a really big effort And I was totally empty at the top But yeah, I broke the 30-minute mark and that was quite a big achievement

Soren
And yeah after spending 13 seasons in the women's pro peloton and according to pro cycling stats You achieved some incredible 47 victories. Early 2022, you announced your retirement, which is something I completely understand the reasons behind your decision. Despite being young, it's natural to have other goals and plans for your life, but what led you to change your mind and decide to sign with AG Insurance?

Ashleigh
So it was actually quite interesting how it all came about. You know, I had definitely in mind that I was going to retire at the end of this year, but I hadn't planned to make it public in the media, but it just so happened that a team presentation with SD-Works that the question was asked and I wasn't going to lie, so I put it out there. Suddenly it became very official, already in February of the year it became super official that Ashley will be retiring at the end of this year. Yeah, I mean, I was convinced that that was the case. I think the big reason for me was that firstly, I wanted to be more involved in the business side of rock and cobra cycling and even growing it. And I've launched a virtual cycling community on Zwift called Rocacorba Collective. So I wanted to be more involved in the business side of things. But then, during the course of the year, I started to see that my level of performance was still increasing. So this year I achieved my best level ever and there's still signs of that improving. So I started to already, yeah it was about in May time really that the option to sign with AG Insurance and all the plans that Natasha had for the team that became a reality, that they were interested in me. And I have to be honest, it actually didn't take me long to change my mind. I really like to be part of projects that are more meaningful than just about winning bike races, and that's something that definitely was very clear to me with Natasha from the very, very beginning, is that yes, this is a team that has the goal to win races and to be a high-performing team, but more than that, it's about creating an environment where young women can grow and can improve and can reach their full potential. So Natasha's project resonated with me. It ticked all the boxes in terms of my vision for women's cycling, in terms of what motivates me as an athlete. And yeah, it also, you know, women's cycling is on the up now. We have the Tour de France FEMME, where I have some unfinished business. So then, you know, knowing that I have another year that I've signed with AG Insurance Next Generation was really reassuring because it means that I have another opportunity next year.

Soren
Do you think the COVID pandemic was a turning point for women's cycling?

Ashleigh
Yeah, the COVID pandemic was definitely a turning point for women's cycling and interestingly so because when it first happened, a lot of people had in mind that women's cycling would take a couple of steps back or that it might affect women's cycling negatively because the mindset was that with competition ceasing because of the COVID pandemic, that the focus would be mostly on men's cycling to recover and to come back, and that women's cycling would be an afterthought. But actually it was the contrary, and this was very much to do with virtual cycling. And so obviously these virtual platforms, and especially Zwift, came into the spotlight. And one of the things that, you know, I respect hugely about Zwift is that they've always prioritized equality. So from the very onset when they started to do competitions during this COVID period for road cycling so that we could have some form of competition, from the onset they made it equal. So anything they did for the men, they did absolutely equal for the women. Then the real turning point came with the virtual Tour de France. During the COVID time of course the Tour de France couldn't happen in its normal slot in July. And so, you know, the way I see it, it happened is that the ASO obviously went to Zwift to try and do something on the platform for the Tour de France. And yeah, I'm pretty certain that Zwift said, okay, we'll do it, but it has to be equal for the women. And so to me, it was actually quite crazy that, you know, I'd been part of this fight, you know, for a Tour de France for women, because we've all known it's important to have a Tour de France, the biggest bike race in the world for women, for us to take that next step. The impact of that was huge. So in terms of my experience of it is, for example, I won the Queen's stage of the virtual Tour de France. And the next day I rode into Girona, because now everything was open and we were able to ride outdoors. So I rode into Girona, I stopped at a coffee shop and immediately my husband said to me, do you notice that more people are looking at you, you know, they're turning around and looking at you. And when he said that, I was like, yeah, actually, maybe you have a point. They're kind of pointing. So because of the visibility through the Tour de France, which is the biggest bike race in the world, suddenly I was recognizable, you know, to more people in the public eye. And this was something I've never really experienced. Like yes, you have fans in women's cycling but they were more avid fans, like they really had to sort out to watch women's cycling. But it just immediately showed what a big difference it made to be in the spotlight on such a big platform.

Soren
Did you start using Zwift for the first time during the pandemic or did you already have a membership before that? So I didn't actually have an active membership before?

Ashleigh
So what happened really is that Zwift actually came to Rock & Corbis Cycling in December of 2018 to use us as the facility for a training camp, so a real-life training camp that they did. So that was my first real exposure to Zwift as a platform and it was a super fun camp, it was really great to watch the people riding, suffering indoors and then going out in the afternoons to kind of work on more like their skills outdoors and to see how the two can complement one another. It was fun being part of it and when Zwift left they left a really nice setup you know but I have to be honest after they left I think I used it once and that was because it was a really rainy day and in that moment I can't say that it was okay, it was fun, but still the same frustration for me with indoor training, which was the big reason why I didn't enjoy doing it is because I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to training, especially with my engineering background and analytical background. I'm really into the numbers, and so if I do an interval session, I really like to get good numbers and I'm always pushing to even improve my numbers. So the big reason why I didn't enjoy indoor training is because it was really difficult to get those numbers. And that is the case of course if you're only doing it every now and then when the weather is bad. And then when the COVID pandemic hit, of course I had this great swift setup. I had some experience with the platform so I knew what it was about and I had a choice. I either sit on the couch and feel sorry for myself or I do my best to embrace the platform and to make the most out of it. And so I did the latter. And then, the training part of it and doing intervals started to, I had to give it a go and try. At first, I spoke to my coach about it and I said, this is, the reason why I hate it is because I can't get the same numbers. And so he said, well, okay, let's just drop your threshold power a little bit to make the training sessions a bit more achievable so that you feel that you're executing them right. And so that's how we started. And at first, again, it was really hard and the muscle doms the next day were really big, you know. But as I kept going day in, day out, you know, week in, week out, and then I think after three weeks I took a bit of an easy week to recover. And then I really saw the improvements. So I started to see that when I was doing intervals on Zwift, I was able to get the same numbers I was getting outdoors. It's a different kind of workout, it's a more resistant workout because you have the indoor trainer which is creating this unnatural resistance, but it's making me stronger because essentially I'm building strength by working against this resistance. Yeah, I mean, post-COVID pandemic, I'm still very much a Zwift convert. I do a lot of social rides on Zwift in terms of helping to grow female participation, a lot of social rides in terms of spreading the word of Rocacorba Cycling. But then also I do at least one intensity workout a week because I see the benefits of training on Zwift to make me stronger outdoors. And I think that's also one of the reasons why I had my best year this year because I use Zwift as a training tool.

Soren
Will you take part in the weekly Castelli Zwift Ride Series this fall and during the off-season?

Ashleigh
Yeah, I mean, Zwift is a great opportunity to connect with people from all around the world because usually to ride with someone you have to be in the same place at the same time, but there are absolutely no borders or boundaries on Zwift. You can be in the comfort of your own home and riding with people in Brazil, in Australia, in South Africa. It's really incredible how you can connect with people and I love that about the platform.

Soren
After 13 years in Europe, racing in the pro peloton, what does dreaming mean to you as professional cyclist? Well I think we never stop dreaming really.

Ashleigh
I mean, yeah, pro cycling, it's a really tough sport and you know we have these great goals and I think part of achieving those goals is the dreaming aspect of it. It's that kind of visualization which is almost in a way dreaming. So yeah, for sure for me I dream of winning the yellow jersey. I feel I came really close last year and then circumstance stopped me from achieving it. So that dream is still very much alive in in my mind and yeah it really is true you know when you have a big goal like that it does occupy your mind quite a lot and even sometimes really in reality your dreams you know you at nighttime you're dreaming about you know winning the yellow jersey and then sometimes on the bike when you're doing the intervals you're dreaming or visualizing you know attacking up the climb and breaking away solo, that's what motivates you in that session. So it's a very big part of our lives, in a more realistic term, as I say, visualization, but actually that's a dreaming. The dreams is what motivates us to keep pushing and keep training as hard as we possibly can to realize them.

Soren
Nice, nice, well said. I guess it's difficult for you to talk about Castelli Clothing right now that you only just got your 2023 team kit. Of course you have experience racing in Castelli gear, doing your two years with the FIGLA team, but again, so much has improved when it comes to performance that perhaps it's better if we dive into the clothing topic later this season.

Ashleigh
Well, the one thing that everyone knows a lot about is the Gabba, that's for sure. Like it is crazy how that, I want a Gabba, you know, like I remember Thomas, I mean, he used to have the non-branded Gabbas because when we went with Castelli, because obviously he could organize it, but that is the one product from Castelli that everyone knows.

Soren
So that's the one you're looking forward to?

Ashleigh
Yeah, of course, but I'm certain that, as you say, there's some developments in the products as well. I know Castelli is a brand that's always pushing to improve. Yesterday I put the kit on for the first time in a couple of years and I immediately felt wow, okay, it's good to be back in Castelli. You feel straight away like it just fits so well and feels super fast.

Soren
That's good to hear, wow, that's fantastic. I like that ending, fantastic. I like that ending, fantastic. I like that ending. Fantastic!

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