HANNELE STEYN
THE ONLY FEMALE LAST LION
Y
ou were a Springbok
triathlete in the
90s and you’re now
known as “The Lioness”, so
you’ve come full circle so to
speak. You fi rst raced MTB
in 1987 and have won many
races since. Somehow you
are still super fi t, always
smiling and loving racing
so much that you’ve never
missed an Epic! Is it at all
about the breakfast cereal?
What’s your secret? My
smile says it all. I love being
active, especially on my bike
somewhere in a mountain or
on the veld. I catch myself
smiling all the time, even
when I am on my own. No
wonder people look at me
funny. MTB is my drug, and
my ultimate high is the Epic.
I always train, and will for as
long as I physically can.
Why? Because I want to be
as fi t and good as I can be
for my age (I’m 53 now).
I never understand why
people ask me when I’m
going to stop? Shouldn’t
they rather ask people when
they are going to start? Why
would you want someone to
stop doing something that is
good for them?
When it comes to cereal,
and nutrition in general, I
learnt many years ago that
a sportsperson’s body is
their company and if you
don’t look after that, you’re
not going to last. I started
developing tasty, nutrient-
dense health foods which
would give me long-term
energy during training and
racing. My company is called
Passion4Wholeness because
I believe in the wholeness of
life and living.
You coach athletes and
make healthy food for a
“NO WONDER PEOPLE LOOK AT ME FUNNY. MTB IS
MY DRUG, AND MY ULTIMATE HIGH IS THE EPIC”
living. Has sport defi ned
your life and has it ever
felt like a chore? I used
to be a very selfi sh pro
sportsperson and only cared
about myself and winning.
The road after retiring is
not easy, but helping others
to train better, cut out the
mistakes I have already
made, and teach mountain
bikers better skills and
fi tness, has fi lled that gap
and been very rewarding.
I believe giving more to
others makes you a lot more
successful and fuller as a
human being.
IRONMAN has seen a
huge growth in ladies’
participation and it’s been
documented that women
are stronger as it gets
longer. That said, ladies
make up less than 10% of
the fi eld at Epic. Do you
feel this is out of whack
and will it change in time?
I believe it will, and I’ll focus
on doing more to get more
women riders into the Epic.
I am a partner in another
business that teaches
women and children better
skills and fi tness, and
already four of them have
the Epic dream. I think a lot
of women are scared of the
UCI category, so am I! But
it makes it safer, and with
the introduction of the All
African women’s category,
this should inspire more
women to take the step.
If we only complain about
the little coverage women
get, but don’t show support
when new categories open
up, it won’t help us to get
to a women’s veteran and
masters category, and those
are the ones I am waiting
for remember. I don’t really
“belong” in the UCI start
block because of my age
and ex-pro status, but I need
to set an example if I want
to help it grow, especially
because one of my biggest
honours was when Kevin
named the All Africa Trophy
after me.
Find out more about
the trophies and
jerseys from p94
The Untamed African MTB Race | MTB | 77