Tales of former professional riders struggling to adapt to life after cycling are aplenty. The plethora of autobiographies available these days all seem to include at least some sense of loss and emptiness, a void of sorts. The routine, the daily training, the constant travelling and attention; these are all factors that can pass by in a blur during a career but what happens when it is all over?
"I have no regrets," says Robert Hunter of his decision to call it day at the end of 2013. "It just seemed right. I had been preparing my mind for the transition during my final couple of seasons so retiring from professional cycling was not a difficult decision."
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It was a late January afternoon when I spoke to Hunter. The Tour Down Under had just finished and already had provided fans and media with much to talk about. Emerging riders’ young and old, new team kits and some well-known names flaunting their early season condition on the streets of South Australia; all talking points indeed particularly for Hunter in his current occupation as a sports agent.
“I guess Jerry Maguire is what it is supposed to be like,” says Hunter with a laugh from his home near Lausanne, Switzerland. “There are a lot of athletes who want to be the next Rolex ambassador but the reality is somewhat different. This job requires a lot of administration – emailing, Skype calls, telephone calls and the like. It is all about being organized and being adaptable to different environments.”
Robert Hunter knows a bit about different environments. Turning professional with what is now Team Lampre-Merida in 1999, Hunter’s rapid career trajectory (Vuelta a Espana stage win as a neo pro) saw him progress through an eclectic mix of World Tour squads, experiencing a broad spectrum of ethos, cultures and languages not to mention team structures. And for a South African invaluable in his progression as an athlete and now in negotiating deals for his expanding clientele.
“I feel very privileged to have experienced such a diverse set of organizations as a rider. Lampre was a great place to start out back then because Italy was at the forefront of cycling. They had a great culture and attention to detail. These days everybody wants to ride for Team Sky – for sure, things change over time but the basic ethos remains the same; hard work, dedication and above all sacrifice. It is all or nothing if you want to make it.”
Hunter made that commitment early on. Leaving South Africa to compete in Europe was one thing; settling on the Continent and putting down roots was quite another, something which he thinks distinguishes a successful professional rider from that of an unfulfilled talent.
“Life is good in South Africa,” says Hunter of his homeland. “But you can’t have it both ways. I realized early on that I was always going to have to put down proper roots in Europe if I was going to make it. That is the difference; you come back to home that is yours and not a rental apartment. Whether you’ve just won a race in Italy or spent a week of getting your head kicked in France, coming back to place of comfort and stability that you can call home makes a huge difference.”
Hunter cites his countryman Daryl Impey as an example of what happens when this commitment is made. It may come as surprise to learn that a younger Impey lost his first World Tour contract. This was a blessing in disguise for the now-ORICA-GreenEDGE rider says Hunter, who has observed his good friend’s progression to that of an established and highly-respected professional cyclist.
“Daryl returned to South Africa and realized that he had to get his house in order and focus. He sorted out his permanent residency, got his head right and sure enough the results followed. Look at him now: he is in a great place in his life, part of a great team that values him and all because he made that commitment.”
Commitment is something that Hunter is putting into his new career. Now running his own sports marketing company known as Pro Touch Global, Hunter explains that the business side of professional cycling had always interested him as a rider.
“I started putting out feelers in during my last two seasons,” says Hunter of his post-cycling planning. “I wanted to stay involved in the sport and use the knowledge and contacts that I had built up over my career. Some of the agents I had weren’t that great so I wanted to provide a service using my own experiences as a platform specific to rider requirements.”
Initially combining his then-fledgling enterprise with the role of a Sports Director (DS) with Slipstream Sports, Hunter has steadily grown his business to the point where it is now a fulltime occupation. Not that he views his time with Jonathan Vaughters' organization as simply “killing time.”
“I have much to thank Jonathan for,” says Hunter of the articulate American. “He was very good to me, both as a rider and then in my role as a DS. I loved working with the athletes for those two years. While I must say that I didn’t view being a DS as a permanent vocation, I gained a great deal of insight and experience in directing the riders.
“At that stage I was limiting my agency role to helping young South African riders enter Europe,” Hunter continues. “Getting them deals with smaller teams and some stagaire roles (former DRAPAC Pro Cycling rider Dylan Girdlestone gained a trial with Garmin-Sharp in late-2014) didn’t conflict with the DS position but expanding my business was always on the cards.”
With the 2016 season well underway, Hunter is plotting ahead to what will be a busy year for him. As well as branching out into other sports (Hunter’s company represents swimmer Roland Schoeman), Hunter intends combining the administration side of his work with a fair amount of travelling.
“As far as cycling Le Tour, the Giro de Italia and World Road Race Championships are the obvious races to have presence,” he explains. “But this business is all about rider-access, which can be difficult at the bigger events. That factor as well as being away from my family (Hunter’s wife also works fulltime) means some weekend trips to a GP Lugano or a some other one day races make more sense.
“There is no set formula – plans change fast and one just has to go with the flow.”
*Note: Header image courtesy of John Pierce and PhotoSport International.
