Alan Hatherly is in his pinch-me-I’m-dreaming era. The South African mountain biker started his year as a star athlete, and ended it as a supernova superstar – there’s no other way to describe his achievements in 2024.

In just a few short, rockstar months, the multiple-time South African national champion claimed a first-ever mountain bike medal for his country at the Olympics in Paris, won the UCI XCO World Championships (also the first South African to achieve this), and then went on to win the UCI Mountain Bike World Series with a devastating display of riding in Mont-Sainte-Anne in Canada.

If anyone has ever deserved a quiet off-season, it’s our hard-working, supremely focused World Champion.

How does it feel to be World Champion? Has it even sunk in yet? It’s still very surreal to wake up and put on the rainbow stripes when I go for a ride. It’s a goal that I’ve been working towards for a couple of years, so I’m trying to balance enjoying the moment with creating new goals and working on achieving those.

Why did it all come together in 2024? What clicked into place for you? I think it’s just been a matter of consistency. I stayed in Europe for the full season and set up a home base in Andorra, which made it easier for me to travel to the races knowing that I had a ‘home’ to go back to in between. And for training, I became used to the area and knew where I could smash out my best efforts, and which routes to use if I needed more hours or a specific type of training.

The Olympic race. On TV, it looked brutal: you, Victor Koretzky and Tom Pidcock going flat-out… What goes through your mind when you’re riding that hard? I had my coach Phil Dixon on course, as well as my mechanic JP Jacobs and physio Max Lefevre in the tech zone, so I was mainly listening to their feedback and thinking of how to implement it at the right moment. Other than that, it’s just like a World Cup, in a sense – it’s second nature now to know when to fuel and how to read the other guys. The pace was a lot higher, but it’s the same guys we race against all year; so not too much changes, in that sense.

So, when you got to the next World Champs race, did you feel a sense of ‘not these guys again!’? I knew from the level at the Olympics that Victor and Tom were the main guys to watch out for on the day [at World Champs]; and it was great, because I knew from the Olympic race what their ‘moves’ were. I just waited for the right moment to attack.

Hatherly credits much of his success to his support team, like friends Craig and Heidi Boyes (right), who flew from Cape Town for the World Champs, and is wife Jade (left) for always being by his side.

Who is in your team, and how have they contributed to your success this year? The whole Cannondale Factory Racing (CFR) team is like a second family to me now. Without them, the results this year would have been a lot more difficult to achieve. But my core group – Phil, JP, Max and my wife Jade – have really gone above and beyond for me this season; they’ve been by my side every step of the way. From Phil planning additional training camps and being available almost always to analyse, discuss and sometimes adjust training on the fly, to JP servicing and making sure that the race machine is always in top condition, even out of competition; Max dropping in for treatments and taking the time to notice and try to prevent issues from arising; and Jade being by my side the entire European block, and helping in any way that she could. I really owe it to those around me for giving me the best foundation to build on, and make all of this happen!

I’m also motivated by proving that anything is possible with hard work, dedication, and the right support system.

Who or what has been the biggest inspiration for you this year? My inspiration is always my younger self, wondering if I would ever be able to even ride with guys like Nino Schurter at the front of a race. I’m also motivated by proving that anything is possible with hard work, dedication, and the right support system.

Hatherly’s World-Cup winning Cannondale Scalpel LAB71. In 2025, he’s moving teams to Jayco Alula, where he’ll compete on the road. For off-road events, he’ll be on a Giant Athem for Giant Factory Racing.

Cycling fanatics love to know the finer details, so let’s talk about your World Championship-winning bike…
What were you riding? Cannondale Scalpel LAB71
Groupset? Shimano XTR
Wheels? FSA KFX
Tyre pressure? Between 1.05 bar and 1.10 bar, for rolling efficiency and traction
Gear ratio? 34T chainring and 11-46T cassette. The climbs are super-steep, and keeping the gear ratio tighter helped a lot with picking up speed again over the climbs.

Do you change components every time you ride a World Cup race, or do you stick to what works? We typically have a baseline set-up, and then we tweak for each track. The main changes we make to suit the course would be tyre choice and chainring size. Everything else stays the same as our tried and tested set-up.

What’s your pre-race routine? Do you have a particular meal that you eat, any superstitions, a favourite pair of socks? The pre-race dinner the night before and pre-race meal are both usually some variation of chicken and rice. Race-day routine for me is usually wake up, breakfast, easy spin, lunch/pre-race meal, get dressed and head down to the pits. Then it’s a team or individual talk with Coach D [Phil Dixon], warm-up on rollers, and then race time.

Where’s your favourite place to ride at the moment? Andorra. It’s one of the best places in the world for cycling. The road safety is next level. Roads and trails are well maintained, and easily accessible. The food is usually healthy, but still amazing. It’s overall just a beautiful place to stay. And most of the locals speak English, which is a game-changer! As far as my favourite country to race in… My favourite course would have to be Italy, but it’s really difficult to choose.

How do you prepare for a World Cup race, considering each country throws up different challenges? If any of the courses have changed from the previous year, then I like to do research and try to find videos or photos on social media. Otherwise, our CFR technical coach KG [former pro Kenta Gallagher] rides the course and relays feedback to us before we go out for training. Then we usually do a couple of slower laps to get a good feel and make line choices, before going into one or two hot laps or race-pace laps. This helps to make sure we’re feeling 100% confident with the line choice, tyre choice, tyre pressure and so on.

In that final World Cup race, Victor still had a chance to overtake you in the overall standings – how did that influence your approach that day? I think I would have had to finish 47th or lower, and Victor needed to win for him to take the overall; so I wasn’t too concerned. I knew I wanted to finish the season with a bang, though, and my plan was always to leave everything out there. So my approach to the day was only different because of it being the final race of the season – not really because of the overall title being on the line.

Which country has the most fanatical cycling fans? Tough one… Each crowd is so different. But I’d have to say France. The atmosphere at the race in Les Gets is unmatched, and the crowds are always the biggest and make the most noise!

You have a very loyal following in South Africa – do you feel the love, when you’re competing so far away? I do! I have such loyal fans, and I always feel very lucky to come from a country where we all treat each other like family. We have a lot of Saffas at the races, too, and it’s always a boost to see the South African flag flying high at the World Cup tracks.

Where did it all start for you – who was the person who encouraged you into a life of cycling? My dad was a pro, back in his youth, and he encouraged me to start riding from a very young age. I started doing downhill; but after a nasty injury where I broke my jaw, I moved to XCO and did the interschool races, into regional races, and then nationals. I went on my first international trip for racing when I was 17 and joined my first pro team at 18, where I started racing in World Cups. The rest is history!

Can you remember a moment in your early days when you thought, “I reckon I can make a living out of this?” I’d say it was growing up watching Burry Stander and Greg Minnaar representing South Africa on the global stage. Watching them use their passion and success to make a living inspired me to chase my dreams.

What do you think is your unique skill that has helped take you so far in mountain biking? I’m very goal-oriented, and constantly working on ways to achieve those goals. Once I achieve one goal, I immediately think of the next one, and start visualising the steps I need to get there.

We see you riding in glamorous locations, and it looks like a lot of fun; but what are some of the behind-the-scenes struggles or challenges that you have to deal with? I’m lucky enough to have my wife travelling with me for most of the time now, but it’s still hard living out of a suitcase sometimes, and it takes a while to find that feeling of comfort in day-to-day life like we have at home in South Africa. Our whole routine changes, and it’s sometimes hard to switch off from work mode. I also miss my two parrots when I’m away for a long time. I wonder if they’ll still like me when I get back!

Staying on the path and sticking to the training can also sometimes get a bit mentally challenging, if you don’t see a result that you were hoping for. Being able to push through the hard days and keep sight of the bigger picture is not always easy; but it does pay off to stay dedicated and disciplined.

What has cycling given you that you couldn’t have got anywhere else? In a word, freedom. I have the freedom to be outdoors most of the day, and the freedom to explore amazing places on my bike. I get to experience different cultures, all while doing a job that I love.

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