WENDALL BOLE:
THE MIND BEHIND
THABA
TRAILS
candidates for professional teams or mechanical roles.
Wendell Bole, South African World Champion Track Cyclist, world‐renowned trail builder and celebrated athlete, is the visionary shaping the breathtaking trails at Thaba.
His signature approach is clear: every route must be beautifully constructed, clearly marked, easy to navigate, yet thrillingly technical for riders seeking adventure. Wendell’ s passion is woven into every contour of the landscape, and his dedication continues to elevate South Africa’ s cycling community.
As Wendell prepares for this year’ s World Championships, aiming to set a world record in his age category, we salute his dedication. Wendell, thank you for your vision and hard work. We back you all the way.
Launching in 2026, the Balwin Youth Cycling Academy exists to empower South Africa’ s youth through active lifestyles, discipline, and opportunity. It’ s about breaking barriers, building character, and fostering inclusion.
The Academy aims to tackle real challenges facing young people today: unemployment, a shortage of skilled bike mechanics, limited riding proficiency, and too few qualified trail builders.
This will be addressed through an eight-stage programme focused on three key pillars: ride training, bike maintenance, and trail design. Young people will learn to ride confidently, repair and maintain bicycles, and even build trails- skills that inspire independence and open doors to meaningful vocational pathways.
With the support of Marc Fourie, Wendell will help identify future trail builders, talented cyclists for tours and events, and
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