Cherise Willeit

Cherise Willeit (née Taylor, previously Stander; born 6 November 1989) is a South African professional road cyclist.[1] She has won a single African and four South African championship titles, in both the road race and the time trial, and later represented her nation at the 2008 Summer Olympics.[2] Willeit also raced for Belgium's Lotto–Belisol Ladies professional cycling team in 2011 and 2012.[3]

Cherise Willeit
Willeit at the 2012 UCI Road World Championships
Personal information
Full nameCherise Willeit
BornCherise Taylor
(1989-11-06) 6 November 1989
Pretoria, South Africa
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight54 kg (119 lb)
Team information
Current teamSandton City Cycle Nation
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Rider typeTime trialist
Amateur teams
2008MTN
2010Nashua Ladies Pro Cycling Team
2015CSA Women's Development Team
2020–2020Team Customized Cycling BioPlus
2022 -Sandton City Cycle Nation
Professional teams
2009MTN
2010MTN
2011–2012Lotto–Honda Team
Major wins
National Road Race Championships (2008, 2010)
National Time Trial Championships (2011, 2012)

Professional career

Born in Pretoria, Willeit qualified for the South African squad in the women's road race at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing by receiving one of the nation's two available berths from the UCI World Cup.[4] She successfully completed a grueling race with a fifty-ninth-place effort, finishing in 3:48:33, surpassing Cuba's Yumari González by a wide, three-minute gap.[5][6] That same year, Willeit earned the women's elite road race title in her first attempt at the South African National Road Race Championships.[7]

Willeit's success in the South African Championships landed her a spot on the MTN team for the 2009 season, followed by her official stint on the Lotto–Honda Team in 2011. That year, Willeit flourished, winning two time trial events at both the South African Championships, and at the UCI African Continental Championships in Asmara, Eritrea.[8]

Willeit also sought her bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, but the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) excluded her from the team. Moreover, Cycling South Africa decided to reject her appeal based on the board's scrutiny and decision in the due process and procedures for the national team's final selection.[9]

Personal life

Willeit married elite mountain biker and African under-23 champion Burry Stander in May 2012. Stander was killed during a collision with a taxi while training near his residence in Shelly Beach the following year.[10][11] She later married Benjamin Willeit and became a mother to a son.

Major results
2006
2nd Road race, African Junior Road Championships
6th Road race, UCI Juniors World Championships
2007
UCI Juniors World Championships
2nd Road race
10th Time trial
2008
1st Road race, National Road Championships
7th Overall Tour of Chongming Island
1st Stage 4
2009
2nd Road race, African Road Championships
3rd Road race, National Road Championships
2010
1st Road race, National Road Championships
7th Overall Women's Tour of New Zealand
10th Road race, Commonwealth Games
2011
African Road Championships
1st Road race
2nd Time trial
National Road Championships
1st Time trial
3rd Road race
10th Ronde van Gelderland
2012
1st Time trial, National Road Championships
1st Stage 2 La Route de France
2014
2nd Road race, National Road Championships
2015
KZN Autumn Series
1st PMB Road Classic
1st Hibiscus Cycle Classic
2nd Time trial, National Road Championships

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Cherise Taylor". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  2. "SA duo shine at Road Champs". News24. 31 March 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  3. "Taylor toughs it out". SASCOC. 4 April 2012. Archived from the original on 11 October 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  4. Morgan, Brad (8 August 2008). "Team SA set for Olympic assault". South Africa Info. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  5. "Women's Road Race". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  6. "Cooke weathers storm to take Olympic gold". Velo News. 10 August 2008. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  7. "Teenage Taylor Wins SA Road Champs". GSport. 13 May 2008. Archived from the original on 11 October 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  8. "Gold for Taylor at African Champs". SuperSport. 11 November 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  9. "Cherise Taylor's Olympic Appeal Rejected". Bicycling. 28 June 2012. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  10. "South Africa mourns death of Olympic cyclist Burry Stander". The South African. 7 January 2013. Archived from the original on 12 March 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  11. Pillay, Kamcilla (4 January 2013). "Cyclist's wife 'cradled him at scene'". Independent Online. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
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