TRISTAN NORTJÉ

TEAM TOYOTA SPECIALIZED

Like so many young South Africans, Tristan started cycling after seeing how much fun his dad had riding bikes. Of course, Tristan’s idea of fun quickly evolved to chasing Strava segments rather than hanging out with his old man. The Outeniqua Pass in George, where the love of riding a bike was born, remains Tristan’s favourite route.

Inspired by the likes of Mathiew van der Poel for his passion, never say die attitude and guts to tackle each race head on - Tristan’s career ambitions include winning and overall Cape Epic and riding in a Grand Tour.

To consistently show up at the sharp end of a race, you have to love training - which Tristan admits to. “I love all training, including intervals. But if i had to choose which session I like best, it would be between 10 min all out efforts or 40:20s intervals.” His bottles will either include CarboFuel for shorter days, or Marathon for longer days and in stage races, and will chose to consume bars or gels, depending on the session.

Tristan’s superpower? He confesses to loving a decent climb.

As a South African, being supported by a South African company is really special. “I know where my nutrition comes from - and it’s definitely one of the best global nutrition brands”, says Tristan.