Amy Wakefield:
A Career Built
on Grit.
Before coaching, Amy Wakefield spent 12 years as a professional mountain biker — competing at UCI XCO and XCM World Cups and World Championships, competing in the Cape Epic 6 times, and reaching a #12 UCI world ranking in 2022.
Twelve years of racing distilled into the moments that defined a career — and eventually shaped a coaching philosophy built entirely on lived experience.
First Bike.
Six Weeks Later, a Race.
Amy got on a mountain bike for the first time in 2008 — and entered the 94.7 Cycle Challenge six weeks later, just to prove she could. A year later she lined up for her first XCO race, getting lapped by riders who'd trained since childhood. She'd eventually be stronger than most of them.
Quit the Salon.
Won the Race.
Amy left her career as a hairdresser in 2011 and won her first stage race the following weekend — the Honda Mountain Trophy. Weeks later, Sani2C silver in the mixed category. By 2012 she had her first sponsor with Ghost Bikes and won the Single Speed MTB World Championship, getting a tattoo on the finish line to mark it.
SA Colours.
World Stage.
Invited into the ASG Academy and racing alongside her hero, Yolande Speedy — the best female MTB rider in South Africa. That same year, Amy was selected to represent South Africa at the UCI XCO World Championships. She crashed and knocked herself out on one of the world's most technical courses. She lined up again the next day.
National Podium.
World Champs Selection.
Relocating from Pretoria to Nelspruit to further her career, Amy immediately podiumed at the National XCM Championship — 3rd on a brutal rain-soaked course. The result earned her first selection for the UCI Marathon World Championships, opening the door to elite international marathon MTB racing.
1,000km Solo.
One Gear. Two World Titles.
Amy won the inaugural Munga — a 1,000km single-stage race across South Africa in summer heat. She also won a 24-hour race outright, beating all the men. The prize money was half the men's rate; organisers were forced to double it. In Japan, she won her second Single Speed MTB World Championship title.
Cape Pioneer. Colombia.
National Champion.
Focused on XCM and XCO, Amy won the Cape Pioneer UCI Stage Race with Arianne Lüthi, and took her first National XCO title — on the same course where she'd knocked herself out in 2013. She then flew to Colombia and won La Leyenda del Dorado, a 9-day UCI Stage Race partnering with Sonya Looney (USA), before racing UCI XCO World Cups in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.
Dormakaba.
Sani2C. Unstoppable.
A stomach bug from day one didn't stop Amy and Candice Lill finishing 4th overall and winning the African Jersey at the Absa Cape Epic. Weeks later, Amy signed with Team Dormakaba — the top women's team in South Africa. Partnering with Sam Sanders, they won Sani2C and Berg 'n Bush, becoming one of the country's most dominant stage race partnerships.
More Cape Epics.
More Podiums.
Amy continued competing at the highest level — adding more Cape Epic finishes to her tally and racing across national and international UCI circuits. Competing on multiple continents, she cemented her reputation as one of South Africa's most resilient and versatile professional mountain bikers.
Trading Races
for Coaching.
After 14 years, six Cape Epics, two World titles, and wins across four continents, Amy made the decision that felt inevitable — to take everything racing taught her and build something bigger than any result. She now coaches from False Bay Fitness in Cape Town, working with runners, cyclists and athletes who want to train with someone who's actually been there.
Racing gave me the blueprint for everything I teach. You don't learn resilience in a gym — you find it at kilometre 580 of a Cape Epic.