PEOPLE » NATIA VAN HEERDEN
to go to culinary school. After my studies
and two years of hard graft in some of
Cape Town’s best restaurants, I joined
my parents on their farm to run the two
restaurants there. Shifts were long and
stressful, but the early morning training
sessions were (and still are) special
bonding time between my dad and I. I
wouldn’t say I was too focussed on my
triathlon career back in 2014, as we just
trained to stay fit and relatively in shape,
but the love for the sport was growing and
that dream of becoming a professional
triathlete became very clear in 2016.
How does your food knowledge
translate into your sports nutrition?
I think it is one of my strengths because
The nut butter is really good to keep
hunger at bay, so I’ll have a sachet with
my breakfast, before a race start, during
a long bike session. It’s high in fat, so
it’s slow-release energy, which makes it
perfect when training for IRONMAN.
Tell us about life on Summerfields,
which is also host to the Hazyview
Park Run. Training and living on a farm
in Hazyview was amazing. Running on
the farm is always a pleasure as you get
a good mix of trails and steep climbs, as
well as hot and humid temps. Then there’s
the amazing birdlife, the rush of the Sabie
River with a few hippos bobbing up and
down, a buck if you are lucky, and always
quite a few dogs!
your bike, 165mm cranks and your set-
up. Aero is everything!
Tell us more about your amazing
Zwift Academy Tri experience, and
your plans for the rest of 2019?
I applied for the Specialized Zwift
Academy Tri Team in December after
seeing a link on Sarah True’s Instagram. I
thought, “what the heck, I have nothing to
lose”. I sent in my most recent result (my
sub-10 at IM WA) and a short motivation.
I was accepted at the end of March. It was
crazy – I received a Skype call from Tim
Don! Now I’m in California training with
some of the world’s best amateur athletes
and mentors Tim Don and Sarah True.
We have received incredible kit from Roka
SPECIAL MOMENTS, from left: marrying Andries Gous in April at the family farm near Hazyview; furry friends excited to see her home;
creating organic delights for Summerfields Rose Retreat & Spa; with dad André in PE for the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship.
BLOWN AWAY, opposite page: doing wind tunnel testing as part of the 2019 Specialized Zwift Academy Tri Team.
I have no limitations when it comes
to cooking food. I understand the
importance of nutritional value, and what
cooking techniques really get the most
out of your produce. I follow a balanced
diet and I am very aware of what I put
in my body. If it is not going to fuel my
session, help me recover optimally or
taste amazing, then I won’t eat it. I don’t
believe in ‘cheat meals’ and using food
as a reward. I believe pizza can be a
good meal – when stoneground flour is
used to make the base and really good-
quality toppings are added. I always try
to purchase organic produce from local
farmers with no added preservatives,
GMO and refined sugar.
Your twin makes Buttanutt spreads
from nuts that grow on your family’s
organic farm. Do you live on those?
Yes! I absolutely love Antoine’s products!
At 1,53m, you’re tiny. Your run is a
real weapon but your bike has also
come on a lot. Have you found being
so small a challenge? What size
cranks and chainrings do you use to
increase power? It’s no secret that the
bike is my weakness. But like anything
else, I believe that the harder I work at
it, the better I will become. Currently I
have 170mm cranks on my bike with a
53/39 chainring. I am very fortunate to
have support from the Specialized Zwift
Tri Team this year, and they are hooking
me up with an incredible new S-Works
Shiv Disc soon. I’m changing to 165mm
cranks, which will help with power and
getting more aero on the bike. I feel the
53/39 is borderline too small and might
change to a larger chainring, especially
for races with hectic wind like IMSA.
The best advice I can offer short
athletes is spend the money and invest in
and an entire Wahoo set-up, while SiS is
supporting our racing and training needs,
and we have access to its specialists to
discuss nutrition strategies. Specialized
has fully kitted us out with shoes, aero
helmets, kit and a custom Shiv Disc.
We have gone through Retül set-up,
metabolic and wind tunnel testing. They
have made changes to my set-up to give
me the most efficient and aerodynamic
position. It has truly been incredible.
I have taken a sabbatical from work this
year. I’m enjoying the time to train and
just be with my husband and dogs. I am
excited to see where this year takes me –
it has been very exciting already!
Any plans to turn pro? Absolutely.
I would like to give Kona a shot as an
age grouper first, though. My goal is to
race Kona this year and then get my pro
licence in 2020.
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