Prof. Pieter Kruger, director at the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Centre for Health and Human Performance, opened his national cycling campaign with outstanding results in sprint and endurance events at the South African Track Cycling Championships. The event took place from 1 to 6 April 2026 at the Bellville Velodrome in Cape Town.
Prof. Kruger won gold in the 3 000 m Individual Pursuit, the 10 km Scratch Race and the 750 m Sprint Time Trial. His winning margin in the 750 m event was 0,3 seconds. He also took silver in the 1 500 m Individual Pursuit on the opening day.
The results place him among riders competing across distances in the same programme. His schedule included events from 750 m to 10 km, with races completed at pace on the track.
“As my day job is effectively working with elite sports people most of the time, I have had the privilege over the past 24 years to work with some of the best sports scientists, coaches, medical personnel, sport physiologists and dieticians in the business, and I have learned a lot about optimising all aspects of performance.”
Prof. Kruger says his academic focus area is performance psychology and that he applies the same principles in his own preparation. “I always try to practise what I preach.”
He says track cycling demands both speed and endurance within a short time frame. “If you think about a 10 km race in the velodrome, it will be completed in less than 13 minutes, usually with an average speed of between 45 and 47 km/h, so it is still fairly high speed.”
Prof. Kruger says his training programme combines long rides and short sessions. “We will do a combination of long, easier rides over a weekend, down to very fast shorter rides during the week, with some simulated training on an indoor trainer to get as close as possible to the actual event,” he explains.
He said time management remains a factor in his preparation. “The challenge at my age is more about finding time to train. The usual routine would be to get up at 04:15 and start riding between 05:00 and 06:30, at least four days of the week.”
He adds that his experience working with elite sports teams all the time is helping him to optimise his own training and performance.
As part of his studies, he completed an honours degree in sports science after his honours degree in psychology, and then moved on to a master’s degree in clinical psychology and a PhD in performance psychology. “The combination of my academic experience and my practical industry experience is definitely helping me to optimise my own performance as well.”
Prof. Kruger says competing offers insight into the demands faced by athletes. “I get a completely new level of respect for the athletes and sports people I work with if I can experience first-hand how much effort, energy, planning and pain it takes to perform,” he says.
