For the first time, I’m overtaking on climbs.

The Challenge - The Cape Town Cycle Tour

Michelle first approached Njinga while preparing to be Head Ride Captain for cycling community Hotchillee at the Cape Rouleur – a demanding multi-day stage race in South Africa. At the same time, she had her sights set on another target: the Cape Town Cycle Tour (CTCT), a 109km race with over 1,200m of climbing – just two days after Cape Rouleur.

 Racing two major events in close succession left little room for guesswork. Michelle knew that fitness alone wouldn’t carry her through – she needed to arrive at CTCT with enough freshness and confidence to race. And as a mom of two with a busy schedule, she needed to train smart, maximising the time she had available. 

 “I’d worked with other coaches before but never had anyone who really understood how to get the best out of me.”

Training with Njinga

Training with Togo through Njinga’s Elevate 1:1 coaching programme, Michelle followed a carefully structured plan built around the demands of both events.

The emphasis wasn’t on doing more, but on doing things deliberately. Cape Rouleur was paced to avoid over-taxing her body while still racing strongly. In the build-up, Michelle's hydration and nutrition were refined with specific goals in mind, including small but strategic changes to support recovery and body composition ahead of CTCT.

Michelle had always believed she wasn’t a climber. Through targeted strength sessions, repeated climbing practice and a gradual rebuilding of confidence, that belief began to shift.

 “Suddenly I felt like climbing was something I could manage – not something to fear.” 

Read more: What makes Elevate so effective.

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The transformation

Just days after finishing Cape Rouleur, Michelle lined up for the Cape Town Cycle Tour. Her goal was straight forward and ambitious: hold an average speed of 34km/h and set a new personal best on the course.

Spoiler alert: she smashed it.

On race day, Michelle executed perfectly. Riding in a huge peloton of 300+ riders, she maintained speeds of around 37-40km/hr.

Michelle completed CTCT in 3h07, holding an average speed of 35km/h and beating her previous PB by 31 minutes.

As for her ranking, she finished 8th in her age group and 31st overall out of more than 3,200 women.

Most importantly, she finished with confidence and strength.

“For the first time in my life, I was overtaking people on the climbs. It felt comfortable and manageable – and I knew I was riding well.”

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Rating the Njinga experience

For Michelle, the difference came down to working with a coach who understood how her body responds to training – and how to bring fitness, fuelling, mindset and recovery together in a way that actually worked for her.

 “Togo intuitively understood the physiological changes I needed to make to get stronger – completely different to anything I’d experienced before.”

 Rather than chasing volume or intensity for its own sake, the focus was on training smart, being strategic about fuelling and recovery, pacing intelligently and showing up on race day ready to perform.

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What’s next?

Michelle continues building on her progress and setting new performance goals. With the right structure in place, she’s learnt just how much stronger – physically and mentally – she can be.

“Togo and Njinga, you rock!”

This could be you!

Like Michelle, you may have a good cycling foundation, but you don’t know how to break through to the next level. 

This is where working with a coach becomes so valuable. It’s not just about diligently putting in the hours (although commitment is important!) – it’s about training smart and knowing how to optimise your time on the bike, training off the bike, nutrition and recovery. And how to tailor all of those to your specific needs.

It may sound like a lot, but Njinga makes it simple. Helping you smash your goals is what we do best.

Let’s get you hitting those PBs! 

Book your free 15-min coach call with Togo and discover how to level up with Njinga.

Looking for more inspiration? After 25 years of no cycling, Larisa is conquering challenges in her 50s.