SONICA KLOPPER

HEAD Bikes SA Sponsored Athlete

I was born and raised in Pretoria, where I went to Hoërskool Waterkloof until the end of the second term of grade 9. As a family, we decided it would be a better choice if I started online schooling, which gives me more time to focus on cycling. I grew up in a home where cycling is a lifestyle, from watching my dad competing in road and mountain bike races like SA champs and the ABSA Cape Epic, to me racing the 947 at the back of a tandem with him. Since I got my first road bike, I was inseparable from it, and although it was an heavy aluminium Eddy Merckx bike, it got me going. Not long after that, I started mountain biking and I have been doing both since.

My first SA Road Champs was when I was 11 years old, I raced poorly but that motivated me to work and train even harder. My parents were always there to support me. My dad helped to improve my road cycling, while I did mountain biking with my mom. These days, either my dad wakes me up at 4 am and we go train with the Zenex cycling group or I go training with my brother. My main focus at the moment is road cycling, competing in as many races as possible, learning as much as I can from the beautiful sport of cycling and trying to push my limits as far as possible.