She's 18, a World Champion, and Just Getting Started | Nadia van Wyk

At 13, she cried until the start gun went off — then she raced. At 17, she won the XTERRA Youth World Championship in Italy. At 18, Nadia van Wyk is just getting started. This is the intro. The full origin story episode drops very soon — subscribe so you don't miss it. Nadia van Wyk is 18, from Durbanville in the Western Cape, and competes in more disciplines than most athletes manage in a career: XCO mountain biking, road cycling, track, duathlon, XTERRA, and horse riding on the side. She's a reigning XTERRA Youth World Champion, a U23 SA XCO MTB Champion, and a SA Duathlon Cross Champion. She homeschooled her matric year to compete at world level, skipping Grade 8 along the way to give herself more time. This week on The Breakaway, she talks about the mental cost of competing young, the nutrition challenges no one warns you about, why girls drop off from cycling at Grade 10, and what South African youth cycling actually looks like from the inside. Plus: Tour de France predictions, her favourite rider in the peloton, and what it was like to see Tadej Pogačar in person in Spain and think, "How is that small?" === CHAPTERS =================================== 0:00 — Welcome: Meet Nadia van Wyk 1:13 — Cycling, XTERRA, Horses: Her Multi-Discipline Life 4:25 — Homeschooling to Compete at World Level 5:36 — The Mental Game: Crying on the Start Line at 13 6:13 — Pre-Race Nutrition: The Thing Nobody Talks About 10:14 — Why Homeschooling Works for Elite Young Athletes 20:11 — How to Get More Girls on Bikes 23:27 — What Titan Racing Is Doing for SA Youth Cycling 31:18 — Downhill MTB: What She's Watching Right Now 36:52 — XTERRA Explained + Worlds Qualification 42:46 — Training Camp in Spain: Life on the Road 45:08 — Tour de France: MvdP, Pogačar & Breakaway Love 49:54 — SA Road Champs: Negative Racing and What to Do About It === LISTEN ON THE GO =========================== Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5GselFm... Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... === FOLLOW ACTIVE HOBO ========================= Subscribe:    / @activehobo   Website: https://activehobo.com/ Instagram: @theactivehobo Strava: https://strava.app.link/ciVbx92FJ2b === THE CREW =================================== Dave @davlewjenkins === MORE FROM ACTIVE HOBO ====================== Latest episode:    • Out of The Saddle with Ryan Gibbons | Acti...   Full podcast playlist:    • Active Hobo Podcast   Related episode:    • Cape Epic Stage Wins Decoded: The Power, P...   🔗 Scicon Sports SA — Premium eyewear and luggage for cyclists who take their kit seriously. https://theactivehobo.short.gy/scicon... === WORK WITH US =============================== Sponsorships & collabs: [email protected] Send a question for the show: [email protected] #ActiveHobo #CyclingPodcast #SouthAfricanCycling