Candice Lill has shown that lasting success is built over time, through consistency and a deep trust in yourself. It's a philosophy that extends beyond racing, shaping her decision to follow the privateer path throughout her career.
We caught up with Candice to learn more about that journey, what it takes to compete with the world's best as a privateer athlete, and how she approaches the pressure, challenges and rewards of racing at the highest level.
Competing on the World Cup Circuit
What does the World Cup circuit feel like from the inside?
It can feel quite chaotic and intimidating at first. It is a high stress, high stakes environment. Everyone there has sacrificed most of their lives to be at the top of their game at this level.
I try to find my own rhythm and flow in the space. I have to make a conscious effort not to focus on what others are doing and just stick to my own plan. You have to be confident in your abilities and execute when it counts. But over the years I have also seen that everyone is afraid or doubts themselves in some way, and we are all just trying our best to overcome that while feeling very exposed. It kind of makes me relax when I realise that everyone is actually just human.
“I have to make a conscious effort not to focus on what others are doing and just stick to my own plan. You have to be confident in your abilities and execute when it counts.”
For people unfamiliar with XC mountain biking, what does a World Cup weekend actually look like?
A World Cup weekend generally starts on a Thursday with XCO course practice.
Thursday: Course Practice & Setup
Here I will do a few laps and get a feel for the course. Most important on this day is to experiment with different tyres, compounds and pressures - as every course is a little bit different. We also dial in suspension settings and pressures. Some courses are high speed descending with big hits, which demands a different setup to slow and technical. In the afternoon I will try to get a massage if I find someone available.
Friday: XCC Race Day
Friday is XCC day and it ends up being quite a long and tiring day because we only race at 17:30.
I normally go for a spin in the morning and then prepare everything: meals for the day, bottles, podium bag, and cooling. Around lunch I try to take a small nap, which helps me with that big effort later in the day.
My pre-race meal will be 3 hours before the race, then we’ll head to the course for XCC practice and warm up before the race. We get home quite late after the race and it’s often difficult to sleep these nights because of all the adrenaline.
Saturday: Recovery & Preparation
Saturday I will try to take things as easy as possible, but I will do 2 more laps on course in the morning. The rest of the day is about fueling properly and recovering for Sunday’s big effort. Sometimes I will get a massage in the afternoon.
Sunday: XCO Race Day
Sunday is the XCO race. We usually race around midday. XCO is a longer, more technical circuit with more climbing than XCC. The circuit is raced until we reach 90 minutes in duration - often meaning 6-8 laps. It is a flat out effort from the gun, and is quite possibly one of the most painful disciplines in MTB.
I will usually try to prepare everything on Saturday afternoon so that Sunday morning is relaxed. But the same story - bottles, nutrition plan, cooling plan, logistics plan. The more organized we are, the easier things tend to run.
The Privateer Path
As a privateer, what goes on behind the scenes that people maybe don’t see?
Well, essentially two of us are doing the job that a whole team of people usually do. Everything from finding and managing sponsors, to logistics of planning a race season, to booking flights/accommodation, bike mechanics, equipment/nutrition orders, cooking, cleaning during a race week etc. The biggest thing is to plan everything well in advance and have a clear plan.
Other than that, our communication has to be great, and we can’t get emotional when difficult things need to be said. It has been a learning curve for both of us to be able to move masterfully between the different roles we need to play, sometimes within a day.
We have chosen to do it this way as we believe it works best for us, but it sure comes with some extra stress at times. On the contrary, I would say that it comes with less stress at other times - we don’t have the pressure of a big team to produce results or otherwise. There are definitely pro’s and con’s and you have to choose the path that is right for you.
What keeps you motivated to race independently?
It’s the way I’ve always done it, so it feels quite normal to me. It took a lot longer to set up a career path and get to the point of being able to produce results. But once I reached that, there was no way I was going to abandon all the long term relationships we built for a team contract that could be here today and gone tomorrow.
It comes down to the amazing (mostly) South African brands and people behind the brands that supported me while things were tough and now being able to represent them on the world stage. I am very proud of that!
It also feels really cool to be able to achieve results with such a minimal setup. It shows that a lot of the other stuff is just noise, and gets down to the basics of what is truly needed for performance.
I get a lot of enjoyment out of ‘taking on the world’ with my husband beside me, and while the lows can be pretty low, the highs are definitely higher!
2026 Season Reflections
Looking specifically at this season, how would you sum up your 2026 campaign so far?
I achieved one of my season goals in March when I won the Cape Epic with Alessandra Keller. That was an amazing experience and I am grateful to have raced with such a strong partner and a beautiful person. It felt like the culmination of many years of perseverance and falling just short.
My second goal for 2026 is to win a XCO World Cup. I have had some podiums over the last two years, but it would be a dream to win one! My 2026 XCO season hasn’t been off to the greatest start, with a super muddy race in South Korea where we had to run 80% of the climbs and a very difficult build up and last minute rush to Nove Mesto.
I somehow feel that I’m just getting going and really believe that it can be a successful season :)
Have there been any races this year that turned into more of a survival battle than a performance day?
I spoke about the World Cup in South Korea being completely ridiculous with the conditions. A race where I could easily have given up, especially as a South African with zero cyclocross experience or racing in such bad conditions.
I have worked a lot on my mental space surrounding racing, and this was one that I was proud of, even though the result was nothing to write home about. I managed to stay positive and focus on gaining and pushing forward in every way I knew possible. Even if that meant storming past a group on the little tar section, only to have them overtake me on the next dismount section.
This relentless sort of spirit is what you need to race well. It almost has to be that nothing can get you down. And when it does, you just have to laugh it off and move forward.
Things don’t always go your way, but I see these challenging days as ‘practice days’ for when it all comes together and you achieve the result. If you can master the mindset on the challenging days, the winning days will feel easy.
What's Next
What do you think this season has taught you about yourself as an athlete?
I used to think that I don’t ‘have what it takes’ because I am not overtly competitive or aggressive, but I have learned that I have something more powerful and long-lasting than that.
I set very high standards for myself and I stop at nothing to make sure that I achieve those standards. I don’t mind how long it takes or what others may think.
I also have an inner calmness that I have learned to use to my advantage. People may see it as a weakness, but they would be mistaken.
What does success look like for you for the remainder of your season?
I really want to win a World Cup and/or World Championships before I leave this sport behind. I believe I am in the position to do it this year, but I guess the next few months will tell.
This being said, the most important thing to me is that regardless of what happens, I will remain true to the Candice I know and approach every situation with fire and heart, regardless of whether I am winning or not.
I feel I am a much more calm and experienced athlete. 2024 was in many ways a huge breakthrough year for me, but I didn’t have the maturity to handle everything that would come with it. This lead to a very turbulent (within myself) 2025. I set expectations way too high and tried to tighten control on everything, lost all perspective and drove myself into a hole. The less I performed, the more I would obsess, which didn’t lead to better performances.
I learned a lot last year and towards the end of the season, I was back to where I believe I should be. Racing was always supposed to be fun, joyful and free for me, and I learned that that is how I get the most out of myself on a race day.
This year I've started the year with that perspective and a sense of calm. With the help of those around me, I have had a much more balanced and steady start to the season. I feel I still have a lot more to give, emotionally, physically and mentally.
"Racing was always supposed to be fun, joyful and free for me, and I learned that that is how I get the most out of myself on a race day."
