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 name	Cherise Willeit
Born	Cherise Taylor (1989-11-06) 6 November 1989 (age 35) Pretoria, South Africa
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight	54 kg (119 lb)
Team information
Current team	Sandton City Cycle Nation
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	Time trialist
Amateur teams
2008	MTN
2010	Nashua Ladies Pro Cycling Team
2015	CSA Women's Development Team
2020–2020	Team Customized Cycling BioPlus
2022 -	Sandton City Cycle Nation
Professional teams
2009	MTN
2010	MTN
2011–2012	Lotto–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.

External links

• Profile – Ultimate Sports Nutrition
• NBC Olympics Profile at the Wayback Machine (archived 4 January 2014)
• Cherise Willeit on Twitter
• Cherise Taylor at UCI
• Cherise Taylor at Cycling Archives (archived)
• Cherise Taylor at ProCyclingStats
• Cherise Taylor at Cycling Quotient
• Cherise Taylor at Olympedia