The unstoppable Bergstrom

Ballito’s Natalie Bergstrom was a bit of a late comer in the world of cycling, but that did not stop her from peddling straight to the top.

Bergstrom is a mother of two, wife of 17 years and champion cyclist. She told the Courier her love for the sport came in 2011 after completing the Sani2Sea.

“It was a three day event and I did pretty well, afterwards I thought to myself: ‘hey, this is quite fun, I should do this more often’.”

The next year in 2012 – at the age of 38 – she began racing competitively and, what’s more, she started winning.

Since then Bergstrom has been undefeated in KZN cross country races and managed to keep an unbeaten record nationally between 2012 and 2014 before a broken shoulder in Cape Town broke her winning streak.

“I was in front in Cape Town on a slick, muddy day. As I came over a drop off I just lost it and that is when I broke my shoulder. That is the thing with cross country cycling, anything can happen in a split second.”

Bergstrom said her husband Neville is her rock.

“He does everything for me, I would not be able to compete on the level I do without his support. Even if there is a crowd of hundreds of people, I can hear his voice through the masses telling me to focus and encouraging me.”

2017 has been a whirlwind year for Bergstrom, having won the KZN cross country series, KZN cross country championships, SA cross country cup series, SA Cross country championships, SA marathon championships, the 2017 ROAG series and numerous one day classic and marathon events throughout the year.

This means that she managed to bag the elusive double in off road cycling by claiming both the marathon and cross country titles, making her the top veteran mountain biker in the country.

And all of this with more than a decade on some of her competitors.

“I only started racing in my late thirties, whereas most of the rest of the ladies are in their twenties. I have even found myself racing against some of my friend’s daughters!”

She said that when she is out on her bike in the bush, that is her time.

“I do not have to worry about anything, all I have to think about is the next kilometer.”

Bergstrom trains most days, trying to get at least and hour and a half’s cycling in on weekdays before putting in some serious mileage over the weekends.

While she has swept through the world of mountain biking like an unstoppable avalanche, she says she wants to take it down a gear next year in order to spend more time with her family.

Bergstrom thanked her sponsor Jowetts, Best for Sports Nutrition, the Cadence Performance Centre and her awesome family for helping her achieve the impossible on a mountain bike.

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