This doesn't seem to have been posted before, so here goes!!!!! From: http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/extras/ghost-riders-waters-extras.html Racing under the radar: South Africa’s apartheid era ‘ghost riders’ in the pelotons of European road cycling Author Geoff Waters Since 1970 South Africa has been a cycling excommunicate because ‘not only the African countries, but also those of East Europe, are absolutely solid for this position.’ Those words within inverted commas are the words of Adriano Rodoni, president of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and of the Federation Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme (FIAC). This definitive declaration was made in March this year (1976). The accuracy of its quotation is incontrovertible. John Burns, ‘Personally Speaking’. South Africa … Where Now? 1976. No page no. You don’t need me to tell you that South Africa is still persona non grata in world cycling. But that doesn’t mean you can’t include a few races in a trip to Europe. Let me tell you how … As Alan van Heerden discovered, it’s … not so hard to get a foreign license in Europe … although you have to pick your country carefully … it can be done in Belgium and is pretty easy in France and Britain … And once you’ve got it, you can race almost wherever you choose. Les Woodland, ‘Viewpoint’. South African Cyclist. October 1978, Vol.3, No.12, p.1. It is common knowledge in modern cycling circles that numerous foreign cyclists defied the international boycott and competed in road races in apartheid South Africa during the 1970s and 1980s. Less well known is the fact that, at the same time, a number of white South African cyclists participated in road races in Europe despite the international ban on them from doing so. Both their presence in Europe and how they circumvented this ban were cloaked in secrecy at the time. Their exploits were poorly documented back then and have since been largely forgotten, leaving a significant gap in the historical record of the sport and of South African cycling in particular. This is the untold story of these South African ‘ghost riders’ in Europe: who they were, where they raced, who they raced against, what they achieved, and why they ultimately disappeared. First, an outline of the cycling scene which existed at that time is presented to highlight the circumstances which led to their emergence. Origins: How the ‘ghost riders’ emerged The South African Rapport Toer multistage amateur road race was the major stimulus for the emergence of South African ‘ghost riders’ in Europe. Held annually every October from 1973 onwards between the cities of Cape Town and Johannesburg over two weeks and some 2,000km, the race included both foreign riders and South Africans. The riders were grouped into small shadow ‘national’ teams. However, each team rode in the colours of a commercial sponsor. The foreign riders involved in various editions of the event included American, Belgian, British, Canadian, French, German, Irish, Italian, Portuguese, Rhodesian and Swiss nationals, all of whom had accepted invitations from the race organisers. (2) From its inception, the Rapport Toer was a ‘rebel race’. It was staged in defiance of both the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) and the IOC (International Olympic Committee) which had banned South African cycling from international competition in the 1960s for practicing racial discrimination in the sport. Foreign riders who participated in the Rapport Toer thus risked being sanctioned both by their own national associations and by these international sporting bodies. Many were subsequently duly penalised, although the severity of their punishments - usually in the form of periods of suspension from competition - varied considerably. http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/extras/ghost-riders-waters-extras-1.jpgRapport Toer logo The majority of South Africans who participated in the Rapport Toer were white riders affiliated to the SACF (South African Cycling Federation) which administered segregated white competitive cycling in the country at the time. In addition, a separate team of black African riders belonging to the SAAA&CA (South African Amateur Athletic and Cycling Association) featured annually in the event from the outset. Segregated black African cycle sport was concentrated on South Africa’s gold and platinum mines, many of which had on-site recreational facilities which included purpose-built cycle tracks for the use of their black migrant workers who were housed in mine hostels. Notably absent from the Rapport Toer in the 1970s were South African Coloured cyclists who were affiliated to SACA (South African Cycling Association). This body disassociated itself from the SACF on the grounds that, apart from in the Rapport Toer, the SACF continued to practice apartheid in the sport. The Rapport Toers of the 1970s Having the financial backing of the Afrikaans-language Sunday national newspaper, Rapport, ensured that from the outset the eponymous race received widespread publicity in the media. However, it came as a shock to the local cycling community when, from the first event in 1973 onwards, foreign riders continued to dominate the race. They demonstrated superior abilities, tactics and teamwork to outmanoeuvre the South Africans. Foreign riders won the event in the first four years of its existence from 1973 to 1976 (3). The only local rider to seriously challenge the foreigners was Alan van Heerden, who won numerous individual stages of the race in successive years to take the sprint points title every year from 1973 to 1978. After winning the 1974 Rapport Toer at the age of 36, the veteran British ex-Tour de France rider, Arthur Metcalfe, commented: "It was a very good race, comparatively flat overall but hard fought with a high standard of competition. I had written off my chances, but with three days to go with two stage wins I took over the yellow jersey. Of the South Africans I was particularly impressed with van Heerden, who finished fifth overall but was particularly strong on the individual stages." (4) Metcalfe was subsequently suspended by the British cycling authorities for participating in the race. http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/extras/ghost-riders-waters-extras-2.jpgCover of the first issue of the South African Cyclist, October 1975, Vol.1, No.1. Alan van Heerden is the rider in the photograph. The double silhouetted cyclist is Arthur Metcalfe, the British ex-Tour de France rider who won the second Rapport Toer in 1974. Faced with the repeated failure of South African riders to win the race outright, the view formed that local riders would continue to be overshadowed by foreigners in the Rapport Toer until such time as they were able to gain experience by racing in premier road events in Europe. The problem was that the international ban prevented this from occurring. Was there any solution? The ‘French Connection’ In July 1975, the Tour de France was won by the Peugeot Cycles-sponsored French rider, Bernard Thévenet. In winning the Tour, Thévenet had defeated the reigning world professional champion and Belgian superstar, Eddy Merckx. In October 1975, Thévenet arrived in South Africa and followed that year’s Rapport Toer as an honoured guest of the race organisers, appearing at the daily stage prize presentations. His presence at the race was hardly fortuitous. At the time Thévenet’s French sponsor, Peugeot Cycles, was linked to the manufacture of Peugeot bicycles locally. These were being produced under licence to the parent company and Peugeot South Africa was involved in regularly sponsoring SACF cycling, including local teams in the Rapport Toer. (5) Also at this time, the cycling division of the Parisian sports club, the ‘Athletic Club de Boulogne-Billancourt’, generally abbreviated to ‘ACBB’, was sponsored by Peugeot Cycles France. Historically, this club had nurtured many top cyclists in their amateur days including André Darrigade, Jean Stablinski, Shay Elliott (Ireland) (6) and later Bernard Thévenet himself. The club’s new policy, adopted in the 1970s, of accepting promising foreign amateur riders as members led to an influx of English-speaking riders into the club from Australia, Britain and Ireland. This ACBB ‘foreign legion’, resplendent in the iconic white and black checkerboard strip of the Peugeot <i>marque</i>, was soon dominating amateur road racing in Europe. Their ranks included many who went on to become leading professional roadmen: Stephen Roche (Ireland), Phil Anderson (Australia) and, from the UK, Robert Millar, Graham Jones and Paul Sherwen. http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/extras/ghost-riders-waters-extras-9.jpgAdvert in South African Cyclist, December 1975, Vol.1, No.1. Then, at the beginning of 1978, the ACBB club acquired a new foreign member. This was none other than the leading white South African cyclist of the decade, Alan van Heerden. Quite how this was achieved despite the international ban on South African cyclists remains a mystery to this day. However, the evidence of the close ties forged between the SACF’s Rapport Toer, Peugeot Cycles in both France and South Africa, Bernard Thévenet and the ACBB suggests that it was the direct result of an arrangement to which they were all privy. Van Heerden’s big Continental breakthrough and its aftermath Initially, after having joined up with the ACBB in Paris in early 1978, van Heerden kept a low profile. If questions were asked, it was suggested that he was either an American or from Britain. Then he enjoyed successes in several French amateur semi-classic road races. He won a stage of the Tour d’Ille-de-France and triumphed in both the Paris-Varennes and the Paris-Orléans one day races.
