Q&A with Jenny MacPherson

November 15, 2018 CyclingSA
Posted by CyclingSA on

Jenny MacPherson (PACC) is no stranger to cycling. Now riding for Butterfields p/b Van D’am Racing, MacPherson has a career which goes back to the early 2000’s which includes a long stint racing with the AIS in Europe, an Olympic Games appearance as a tandem pilot and countless wins at local and national level. It’s safe to say MacPherson knows her way around a bike race.

Following in the trend of some of the series significant contributors, MacPherson is also playing her part in safeguarding the future of the sport, being involved in numerous junior programs and the CSA Women’s Commission along with other initiatives.

MacPherson is the current leader of the Elite Women’s Category and holds a very slender lead over Nat Redmond (Gravier Cycling Collective) and Chloe Moran (SASI) – who are tied on points, just 2 points behind MacPherson.

You’ve been a regular at the Super Series/ETS for a while now – what’s your previous best overall result? 
Yes, I’ve raced it for the past four years, as a result of CSA introducing a women’s category in 2014. I won the series overall in 2015 with the Port Adelaide Cycling Club women’s team, and have finished top five overall every other year.
So you are leading the series with two rounds to go. Was this a position you expected to be in going into the series?
Haha no, I was only expecting to be a reserve rider! However, unfortunately, some of the regular Butterfeilds p/b Van D’am Racing riders haven’t been able to race due to illness, so it’s provided more opportunities to race than I was expecting. Also, I’ve been focusing more on my coaching rather than training this year, but the racing bug bit me again recently, and I got motivated to do some training – plus I just love racing crits!
You’ve got two major challengers in Nat Redmond (Gravier CC) and Chloe Moran (SASI), both sitting just two points behind you. Which rider are you more worried about? 
Both are very strong and smart riders! Chloe has a great sprint finish, and Nat is always on the attack. I think it will come down to who has better team support on the day, as both SASI and Gravier have some very experienced riders and both have been working well as a team all series. It’s awesome that it’s so close on the leaderboard and all from different teams – makes racing much more exciting!
What’s your favourite round been so far?
Round 2 & 3, Copper Coast Cup. To get back to back wins was terrific and the racing was very tactical, was awesome to be a part of!
You made the move across from USG to Butterfields p/b Van D’am Racing – how has this move been? 
I’ve spent the last three years providing race guidance to the USG women’s team and really enjoyed seeing how much they have grown and developed as bike racers. When Maddie Steele gave me the opportunity to provide support to her team of new riders, I thought it would be great to share some of my race knowledge & to help continue building the strength in other women’s teams here in SA. However, it is a bit scary to think I’ve been racing longer than some of these women have been alive!?!?
You’ve had defending champion Jess Mundy by your side for a few of the rounds, has this been a big help?
Yes, definitely. Jess is a consistently strong rider and with her racing smarts, she helps makes pressure situations less complicated.

Racing kicks off on Sunday at 10:00 am at Sturt Reserve in Murray Bridge – we look forward to seeing you there!

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