The acclaimed athlete who has had a meteoric rise in cycling moved back to South Africa after living in Kenya for 8 years. She lined up for her first South African Cup in 2022 with minimal experience.
South African XCO MTB cyclist Tyler Jacobs. Picture: karen_mackridge_photography/ Instagram.
JOHANNESBURG – A rising star in the cycling scene, Tyler Jacobs, is steadily riding her way to the top.
She will be racing in the World Cup in Lenzerheide, Switzerland from 9 to 11 June 2023.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how I perform in short track for the first time and hopefully managing to hold on for longer in the XCO [Cross Country Olympic] on Sunday,” said Jacobs.
The athlete moved back to South Africa after living in Kenya for 8 years. She lined up for her first South African Cup in 2022 with minimal experience.
She had only had a few fun stage races she did with her father in Kenya.
“My dad introduced me to cycling and I started riding with my dad and my brothers,” Jacobs told Eyewitness News.
And Candice Lill is your CAC AFCON Champion
Followed closely by Tyler Jacobs and Sarah Hill pic.twitter.com/Zny4ZtZ6HB‘ Cycling South Africa (@Cycling_SA) June 4, 2023
That year she went on to represent South Africa at the African Championships where she dominated and won the XCO title, she was the junior African XCO Champion 2022, the overall junior winner of the SA XCO Cup Series 2022 and was selected to represent South Africa at World Champs 2022 – to name a few of her achievements.
Cross Country Olympic (XCO ) races are held over undulating circuits with technical descents, forest roads, rocky paths and obstacles of 4km to 6 km. The race varies from 1 h 20 minutes to 1 h 40 minutes depending on the category.
The athlete wants more women to compete in cycling, especially mountain biking.
“Just more women on bikes. It’s a very tough sport that can be dangerous but it’s so rewarding and so much fun. The more competition there is the more exciting the racing for the riders and spectators.”
FILE: South African XCO MTB cyclist Tyler Jacobs. Picture: tylercjacobs/Instagram.
At the recent CAC Mountain Bike African Championships at Thaba Trails Gauteng that happened from 2 to 4 June, she was one of the top three South African women who dominated the competition alongside Candice Lill and Sarah Hill.
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The three competed in the Elite Women’s race where Lill took gold ahead of Jacobs and Hill.
“I feel very good about it, mostly because I was able to hold onto Candice till the end,”said Jacobs.
The above performance ensured that Jacobs jumped 141 places on the UCI rankings and is now 27th in the world among the U23 ladies.
The 18-year-old has been selected to represent South Africa at the upcoming UCI World Championships in Scotland, from 3 to 13 August.
The 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships will host 13 disciplines and be the biggest cycling event ever.
South Africa will be represented in nine of the disciplines.
????♀️???????? We are proud to reveal the highly talented and dedicated athletes who will represent South Africa at the upcoming UCI World Championships in Scotland! ????????????♂️
???? Read the full team selection on the CyclingSA Website:https://t.co/su1I05ay0B
‘ Cycling South Africa (@Cycling_SA) June 7, 2023
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