Mariske completed her BSc (Sport Science ) degree at the University of Stellenbosch in 2016. She started her racing career at tender age of 10 and has been lining up on start lines ever since.

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Mariske began racing competitively in 2008 and went on to represent South Africa for the first time in Italy that same year. She has been SA XCO Champion a total of 15 times and represented South Africa at the 2014 & 2018  Commonwealth Games. She came 2nd & 3rd in the 2017&2018 ABSA Cape Epic and was selected for the 2015 Mail&Guardian Top 200 Young South Africans in 2015.

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Besides currently racing professionally for SILVERBACK on the XCO World Cup series, she is also a coach at Science2Sport. Here is where the gap is bridged between scientific research and men and woman in the field. 

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