“A few of them stayed at my Mom’s house. Trained hard in the morning and partied even harder every night. A great bunch of tough guys and flip, they knew how to have a good time.”
South Africa late-1991. Roxette’s “Joyride” was aired ad nauseam on national radio, Nelson Mandela had been a free man for almost two years and the door was finally opening to the wide world of international sport. Sure, many an overseas athlete had trained and even competed in the not-yet-Rainbow Nation but always on the sly (read: false names, brown envelopes etc). Ask Sean Kelly. But that was fast becoming a thing of the past and local cyclists weren’t seeing things when Moreno Argentin rode through Hout Bay in full Ariostea strip, "big-ringing" it up Suikerbossie while breathing through his nose.
The Rapport Toer of nineteen-ninety-one had been moved to October (or was it November?) and managed to attract several foreign teams. While the Pickfords Removals-sponsored Italian presence was spearheaded by Angelo Canzonieri, a group of plucky British riders made up Her Majesty’s national representation. This was long before anything resembling “marginal gains” or “SKY” was associated with cycling, where the total number UK pro’s based on the Continent could be counted on one hand. The strong domestic UK scene was actually quite similar to South Africa at the time, where home-based professionals raced against the top amateurs on a regular basis. The Milk Race and Rapport Toer were the national pro-am tours and domestic racing, while not necessarily fashionable, bred a tough group of riders in both countries. Say what you want but this was the embryo of what we know as the Team SKY and Team Dimension Data today. Just take a look at the staffing rosters of both organizations to get an idea why.
Whilst the actual racing and eventual result of that year’s Rapport Toer saw Mark Beneke triumph, the yellow jersey was held for several days by John Charlesworth of Team GB. Gary Speight, Dylan Williams, Matt Illingworth and Richard Prebble completed the British lineup in a race that wound its way from Johannesburg to Cape Town before ending in the Windy City of Port Elizabeth. These guys were an unknown force to the internationally-starved local contingent and they did not disappoint with their consistent performances. And as with many a visitor, they fell in love with the country, electing to stay on for few months immediately after.
Hosted by the Bellville Municipality, Charlesworth along with Speight and Illingworth made use of the Western Cape's weather conditions and scenery becoming regular fixtures on local roads, not to mention the nightlife. All top amateurs in accordance with the classification back then, their stay culminated with the inaugural Giro del Capo of the following year. More telling was that these guys opened the door for many more British riders to visit our shores. Chris Lillywhite, Keith Reynolds and Simeon Hempshall were but a few to grace our shores, with Reynolds actually applying for permanent residency after finding love in the Mother City. I even washed his car although I doubt he remembers that.
Thanks for tip Keith. Hope all is well with you.
More to follow.
