Words: Michelle Hohls
Garmin Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd are excited to announce the partnership between Garmin and Yolandi du Toit, a top South African Mountain biker who finished in 2nd place in the South African Ladies Team Category in the recent Absa Cape Epic.
Yolandi started her professional cycling career in 2004 at the age of 18, and for 2 years whilst completing school and a BSc as a Dietician at the University of Potchefstroom, she formed part of the Liberty Ladies cycling team.
Whilst in Europe, Yolandi was offered a contract with Team Lotto Belisol, a well-known Belgium team and for two consecutive years took part in the Ladies Tour de France race. After achieving what she set out to achieve in Europe she decided to switch over the mountain biking in 2009 in search of a new challenge.
Yolandi tells us of where her love for cycling began, “My Dad was the first one in the family to take up cycling. He heard of the famous ‘Argus’ and dragged my mom along on training rides, but he soon got too strong for her. She needed a new training partner and asked me to join her on a ride one day. I can’t remember much about that specific day, only that I was 12 years old and that I enjoyed it so much that I went out the following day, and the following day and haven’t stopped since.”
“Garmin are extremely proud to partner with such an inspiring athlete like Yolandi. She is a great cyclist, brand ambassador and person. We have found a partner that shares our values and we look forward to supporting each other during the course of the year” says Walter Mech, CEO of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Yolandi will be riding in her own design of Garmin branded kit and will train with the best equipment that Garmin has to offer, like the Edge 810 touchscreen GPS bike computer with connected services and mapping compatibility for training, paired with the Garmin Virb Elite Action Camera with built in GPS, Yolandi can remotely control her action from her Edge. She will also be able to pair her Virb Elite with her heart rate monitor to record her speed, distance, route, tracks and altitude which will be embedded in the video when replayed. The Vector power meter pedals will also assist Yolandi in her training where the measuring tools will record the power output from each pedal.
To keep updated on Yolandi’s journey, connect with her via twitter (https://twitter.com/Yolandi_duToit) or look out for her training videos on GarminSA Twitter page (http://twitter.com/#!/GarminSA) or Garmin southern Africa Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/#!/GarminSA).
