CHAIN GANG FEMME

Founder & CEO Chain Gang MTB Club

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Smish’s journey began with a simple mission: to get kids off training

wheels and onto trails with confidence. Since 2016, she has coached

hundreds of children, teens and adults, helping them develop not only

as riders, but as resilient, capable individuals. Life skills are woven into every lesson, and she works with riders to help them progress to

Provincial and National levels.

 

A dedicated mountain biker and mentor, Smish has built a strong

presence in the cycling community over the past decade. She runs and participates in programs that introduce young riders to the sport, teach responsible and confident riding, and celebrate the joy and freedom that cycling brings.

 

Beyond racing and riding in New Zealand and many of South Africa’s well-known races and and stage race events, earning her Gauteng District and Provincial colours for XCC and XCO, Smish is deeply involved in growing the sport at a grassroots level. She empowers children and families to connect through mountain biking and is actively involved with the Soshanguve Development Riders, sharing knowledge, equipment and support in communities where access to sporting resources is limited. She also sponsors and guides a para-athlete and a small MTB team, works with autistic children, allowing them to feel the freedom of two wheels, and is one of the few female trail builders in South Africa.

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Smish serves on the Gauteng MTB Commission and the Gauteng

Primary Schools Committee. Her contributions include event

organisation, management, administration, trail setup, logistics and

youth development.

 

Working with adults, teens and “tiny humans,” and nurturing both skill

and confidence through fitness and technique, Coach Smish was

awarded the Gauteng Cycling Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024

Founder & CEO Tread Femme

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Joanne Badenhorst has spent more than three decades deeply embedded in South African cycling, contributing across racing, media, team management, skills development, and women’s advocacy. Her journey began in the late 1980s, racing league road events in KwaZulu-Natal before moving into leadership roles, including serving on the Natal Cycling Union and the organising team for the South African Road Championships. She also gained early hands-on experience across multisport and mountain biking through organising triathlons and working as a soigneur for KZN riders at the iconic 1991 Fat Tyre Festival

in Sedgefield.

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As mountain biking grew, so did Joanne’s involvement. She began riding

off-road in 1991 and went on to compete in many of South Africa’s major

one-day and stage races. Her passion for the sport expanded into

professional management when she took on the role of team manager

at the Absa Cape Epic. She has also taught MTB skills, helping riders,

especially women, build confidence and competence on the trails.

Professionally, Joanne has spent over 30 years in cycling media,

contributing to Ride Magazine, Tour Magazine, and later co-founding

TREAD Media in 2009, which has since become one of South Africa’s

most trusted independent mountain bike media brands.

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Recognising the challenges facing women in mountain biking, she

founded Cycle Lab Active Women in 2018, creating a non-intimidating,

social riding community that significantly expanded opportunities for

women riders in Gauteng. Her work and insight in this space led to her

appointment as the Women’s Commission representative for Mountain

Biking South Africa, a role she has held for the past two years.

Driven, motivated, and deeply passionate about making a positive and

lasting impact, Joanne brings far more than cycling experience to the

table, she brings decades of leadership, advocacy, media

expertise, and a lifelong commitment to growing

mountain biking, especially for women.