Mountain Bike Icons – the Mannie Heymans story

Namibian mountain biker Mannie Heymans was the first-ever Cape Epic champion. This is his story

off.road.cc staff

Jul 21 2023

[Words by Steve Thomas]

The name of Mannie Heymans may seem vaguely familiar to some readers. The Namibian garnered a slew of top results and respect from his peers racing in the marathon scene in central Europe 20 years ago. They call him Mr African and, indeed, for almost two decades, Mannie was the patron of the Southern African race scene. Not only because of the fact that he was making a name in the Euro-dominated MTB scene but because he was leading with ethical example, and would inspire generations of young Africans to follow their dusty dreams.

From springboks to singletrack

Born in South Africa in 1971, Mannie and his family moved west to the then SA-occupied land of Namibia when he was 13 years old, which is when he traded his rugby ball for a bike.

“I have been on a bike since I can remember. Like all cool kids, I started with BMX, mostly playing around but never racing. Being from South Africa, I also played rugby as it was just part of the culture,” Mannie explains.

Namibia has not been renowned for its sporting stars (apart from track and field sprinter Frankie Fredricks and Dan Craven who has done particularly well on the road scene in recent years). Cycling as a sport was almost nonexistent in the country at that time.

“When we moved to Namibia in 1984, I took part in a local road race and, much to my surprise, I won. Although this was a very small race, it immediately convinced me to give up rugby and take up cycling. The rest is, as they say in the classics, history.”

“Back then cycling was much smaller, with maybe six races the whole year. Now, there is roughly a race every weekend. There was no coaching or any other opportunities then.”

Chasing the dream

The heated deserts of the Kalahari and the famous empty dunes of Namibia are a long way from the damp and chilled forests and crispy mountains of central Europe, but that was where Mannie needed to be if he was going to become a pro-cyclist. And given that Namibia has long historical connections with Germany, it seemed like a good starting point in this quest.

“I travelled to Germany for the first time in 1993 and paid for a ticket out of my pocket money. Forty-five days later and I was back home. Inclement, rainy weather, my struggle with the language and a scuffle with the German police - pulling me off my bike because I cycled on the wrong side of the road, was enough to send me packing and come home to lick my wounds. By 1996 I had saved enough money to take on the challenge Europe presented.”

Breaking the Euro ice

Eventually, Mannie started to grasp the linguistic basics and got to grips with the chill factor, thanks to a helping hand.

“I was lucky to find a second family in the south of Germany who took me under their wing so that I could focus on riding my bike. I think this is very important if one wants to make it in Europe, to have a base from where you can operate.”

It was at this time that he got the break he was looking for and when he discovered he had an aptitude for long rides.

“My big breakthrough came in 1998. I was training with a German national rider, Marcus Reichle, and he was known for training long distances. It so happened that it was the first edition of the then Adidas Transalp, and Adidas was looking for a team to sponsor. They contacted Marcus and he asked me if I would join him, having never done a marathon race before.”

“Obviously, I said yes, not knowing what was coming my way. We did two warm-up races prior to that; Super Dolomiti bike marathon in Italy and Kirchzarten bike marathon in Schwartswald. I just enjoyed every moment of it and tried to learn as much as possible in this time.”

When long shots pay off

Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, the central European marathon scene was thriving, especially in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. These races were true epics, races with massive elevation gain, races that make the current UCI Marathon series races look like short-track sprints in Norfolk. Mannie was well and truly making his name in these races, which attracted thousands of riders and were yet relatively unknown in the UK and the USA.

However, the South African MTB scene was also heavy on marathon racing, and this led to the first ever Absa Cape Epic taking place in 2004, which Mannie duly won when partnered with German marathon racer and now five-time Cape Epic winner Karl Platt.

“By the time the Cape Epic came about I was already a well-known marathon rider in Europe, winning big races like Kirchzarten, Tengersee, Willingen Albstadt. It was a new experience for South Africans but I was used to it.”

“Seeing how big the Epic is now, it makes it so much more special to have won the first edition.”

The highs and lows

"My career high and breakthrough must be in winning Transalp Challenge in 1998. That opened a lot of doors, and when I qualified for the 2000 Olympics, I received my first pro contract in Germany, and could not believe I was actually getting paid to ride my bike. Next in line must be my first Olympic Games; a very special moment indeed, standing on the start line in Sydney,” Mannie says.

Mannie raced in three Olympic XCO races, several Commonwealth Games and World Championships, won medals in the African Games and Championships - on- and off-road – and he was also the Namibian Olympic flag bearer.

“That was another special occasion, leading your country at the world’s biggest sports event doesn’t happen to many people – so I could not be prouder.”

“The biggest low I can think of was breaking my collarbone in a marathon race in Bad Wildbad two weeks before I was to tackle the Transalp Challenge with my South African partner Kevin Evans as the top SA team.”

“Regrets? Absolutely none!”

Life after racing

“One big problem for a lot of pro sports people is what to do after your cycling career. I had the same problem until I opened Mannie’s Bike Mecca (shop) in 2011. Every happy customer is like winning a race now and so I try and win a couple of races a day.”

“In 2011 I started Mannie’s Bike Mecca from my mother’s garage. Soon the entertainment area became the showroom and every unused room was a store room. It seemed I had the right recipe and had to expand. By the end of 2012, I found new premises and we started building MBM in Acacia Str.16. We opened in July 2013. We are constantly looking for new experiences and merchandise.”

“In 2018, I opened MBM in the coastal town of Swakopmund.”

Fat tyre fate

It should be noted that Mannie never fully stopped racing. He just switched paths and gears, and he also discovered fat bikes.

“In 2012 I had my first experience with fat bikes while doing the BC Bike Race in Canada and, by the end of 2013, I was the importer of 907 fat bikes from Alaska for Southern Africa. I had to promote fat bikes and, in 2014, did the Absa Cape Epic on my fat bike, competing in a team for charity with Dr Helmut Weich.”

“Doing the Cape Epic Prologue in 2014 on a fat bike was a crazy idea but doable but that was never my intention. The best way to gain the exposure I needed was to do the whole Cape Epic on a fat bike. And it worked. It worked so well that suddenly every second bike supplier thought they must now have a fat bike in their inventory. This influx damaged the experience of cheap, heavy, bad riding bikes. Some called it a craze but, for me, there is still a place for fat bikes and I am still selling them.”

As well as still riding races, Mannie also organises one of the biggest off-road epics in the region.

“The Nedbank Desert Dash. It’s a crazy race from Windhoek to Swakopmund. I won three times as a solo rider, while still riding a 26-inch hardtail bike. The event was 10 years old when the organiser did not want to stage the event anymore. A friend and I decided to get Nedbank as a sponsor and grew it from 340 to a capped entry of 1000 riders.”