Jason Boulle: The Call of the World Stage

Jason Boulle and his wife Leslie spent four months in a campervan travelling around Europe last year as he took on all seven races in the Enduro World Cup Series, and the Enduro World Championships. He shares the journey to his first international campaign.

IN THE QUIET OF THE KWAZULU-NATAL Midlands in 2015, stories of joy and anguish from the burgeoning Enduro World Series began to captivate me. Phenomenal bike riders from all corners of the globe – some with a Downhill background, others from the ranks of the XCO World Cup elite – were loading up their packs and heading out into the mountains to answer the question of who would be the best mountain-bike racer in the world when it came down to fitness, physicality, instinct and technical skill. Grand locations, 1 000m+ descents, gruelling days in the saddle, mechanical failures, crashes, comebacks, and the finest of margins separating the winners from the rest; the sport of Enduro mountain biking had me enthralled.

Fast forward a couple of years and I'd left high school and the province in which I grew up for the rugged mountains of the Western Cape – and with my trusty Rocky Mountain Altitude I lined up for my first-ever Enduro race. The sparse and rocky slopes of the Cederberg in October 2018 were the setting for the Ezel Enduro, and from the moment I dropped into the first stage, I knew that I was where I belonged.

It wasn't long before I found myself on the start line of an Enduro World Series race. A favourable result at a qualifying event in Lesotho and a well-timed riding holiday with my dad in the Italian Dolomites led to a surreal weekend of racing against the world's best (not that they had much to fear!) in the sport I had followed so deeply. The two races I competed in while over in Europe in 2019 were almost too overwhelming to learn anything from, but I loved the experience and was set on making a return to the series again some day.

FACING MY "WHY"

At first the appeal of travelling the world and rubbing shoulders with iconic athletes was motivation enough to take on the World Cup season, but when challenges hit, I needed something deeper to keep me going.

Having had success racing in South Africa – regularly being on the podium at National Cups and eventually winning the Enduro National Champs in 2024 – I felt the logical next step would be to enter the much bigger pond of World Cup racing (the Enduro World Series graduated to World Cup status in 2023) to realise whatever potential I truly have and become part of the small group of riders representing South Africa at World Cup level.

Last year, I completed my first full season of Enduro World Cup races (seven in total), the first South African to do so (although credit must go to Matt Lombardi and Sharjah Jonsson, who both raced some big calendars in the Enduro World Series in 2018 and 2019). Through the highs and lows of the journey so far I've had to question my "why" countless times, and have had a steep learning curve in understanding what it really takes to pursue a career on the World Cup circuit.

Having been inspired by the likes of Greg Minnaar, Candice Lill, Alan Hatherly and those following in their footsteps such as Luke Moir and Tyler Jacobs, I feel a call to pick up the baton and do my best to show the world what South African mountain bikers are capable of. The ultimate goal, I suppose, is to land a Saffa on an Enduro World Cup podium, whether that be me or one of my compatriot racers, or even a rider from the next generation who's followed in our slipstream.

THE COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS

As much as the adventure of travelling and racing your bike in some of the most iconic mountain ranges in the world is an opportunity not to be downplayed, there are definite costs involved, and not all of them financial.

Some of the biggest are felt by my wife Leslie. We have travelled this road together over the past two years, both physically and metaphorically. While there is fun and joy in travelling the world like we do, this isn't the life that she would have chosen for herself, but she has committed to supporting me far beyond what I could ask of her.

In the "startup phase" of this racing chapter we have invested all the income we earn into travelling and racing. We haven't had a permanent home in two years; instead we rely on family and friends to accommodate us or book the odd airbnb from time to time. Hopefully this won't last too much longer, but it has been necessary to finance my full season of racing.

We've been away from family and close friends for months at a time, and missed important weddings and birthdays. That all takes its toll. We have also been blessed with incredible experiences in places we would never otherwise have visited, made new friends from around the world, and strengthened our partnership through facing the adventure together.

The races are a physical challenge as well as a financial and logistical undertaking. At World Cup level, we spend huge days in the saddle, riding for over five hours a day for up to four consecutive days (practice and race days). We're often climbing 1 600m or more per day on 17kg+ bikes with heavy Downhill casing tyres. We face heatwaves and snow, steep and relentless climbs and bone-rattling descents. You need to be at your physical peak to have any hope of keeping up! That requires lots of time in the gym and on the bike building a big engine and a powerful body, as well as time dedicated to honing your technical skills.

MAKING THE 2025 SEASON WORK

To survive the four-month-long World Cup season in Europe, with the help of my parents we acquired a van that was kitted out with a bed, small cupboards and not much else. This not only allowed us to get to where we needed to go, but also to sleep for free as much as possible. Five weeks in a parking lot in Andorra with nothing but a bed and a gas cooker in your van has its charm, but can also be testing at times.

Working on my own bike throughout the season, I learned how questionable a mechanic I am, and have been grateful for the help of friends made along the way who possess better knowledge and skills in keeping a race bike running through week after week of abuse. We could not have pulled off this first season abroad without friends and family giving us encouragement and also helping to cover the cost of flights, the odd race entry, and much more.

• While the biggest goal of this first World Cup season was to learn as much as possible to build on in future campaigns, I did have my eye on some more concrete targets as well. I believed that I could achieve a top 30 result at one of the World Cups and at World Champs, but I fell short of that by just over 20 positions. My best races were the final two World Cups, placing 51st in La Thuile, Italy, on Round 6 and 53rd in Morillon, France, on Round 7, and 53rd at the World Championships in Aletsch Arena, Switzerland. Failing to reach the results that I had aimed for was disappointing without a doubt but, looking at where I came from in the early season, battling to finish inside the top 100, to getting three consistent finishes just outside the top 50, I was pleased to see some progression. I feel I have a good base to build on for the coming 2026 season.

LOOKING AHEAD

There were four South African riders who raced at least two Enduro World Cups in 2025 – Keira Duncan, Keagan Brand, Luca Zietsman and myself. I look forward to this crew growing over the coming years to represent the talent and drive that is blooming in our local scene. I'd love to play my part in building a pathway for up-and-coming riders to race at a World Cup level and stand a chance of placing competitively among the world's best. We'll see what we can do in the next few seasons with the support that comes alongside us. Watch this space!