AMP - south africa's greatest ever female cyclist

[Shebeen]

16 hours ago, DieselnDust said:

Don't we count Chris Froome....

 

 

when it suits us. i would, but he rides under a different flag

[DieselnDust]

Just now, Shebeen said:

when it suits us. i would, but he rides under a different flag

So did Alan van Heerden

[Shebeen]

20 hours ago, Nick said:

He did do Cape Epic in 2007.

quite a few springbok props have got rubber all the way through this race

[Shebeen]

9 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

So did Alan van Heerden

of necessity not convenience. different days

[Long Wheel Base]

1 hour ago, DieselnDust said:

So did Alan van Heerden

 

1 hour ago, Shebeen said:

of necessity not convenience. different days

I assume due to apartheid? What flag did he ride under?

[DieselnDust]

21 minutes ago, Long Wheel Base said:

 

I assume due to apartheid? What flag did he ride under?

for the life of me I can't remember if it was the Belgian  or Dutch flag he raced under due to the embargo on South Africans participating in international sport. He did have a link to Italy as well so he may have raced under an Italian license at some point as well

Edited July 13, 2021 by DieselnDust

[TNT1]

The Idol raced as a South African.

Quote

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.

Quote

 

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.

Van Heerden finally hit the headlines in the French cycling press in June 1978 when he finished third in the prestigious amateur version of the Paris-Roubaix classic race riding in ACBB colours. He was a member of a four-man breakaway in the final stages of the 200km race over the infamous cobbled roads of the ‘Hell of the North’. His other breakaway companions were all Belgians. Fearful of van Heerden’s by now well-known strong finishing sprint, the three Belgians engineered the late escape of their top rider, Fons de Wolf ⁽⁷⁾, who went on to win in 4 hours 38 minutes, 1:34 ahead of Ronny Claes with van Heerden third. This result attracted widespread attention in European cycling circles and prompted serious questions about van Heerden’s national identity.

The July 1978 edition of the South African Cyclist carried the following report under the headline. ‘French Federation bans South Africans’: “Three South African amateurs have been banned from racing in France. The French Federation announced its decision following Alan van Heerden’s third place in the Paris-Roubaix classic four days earlier. The other two concerned are Johnny Warne and Alan Dipple, who rode but did not finish.” ⁽⁸⁾

Despite this ban, van Heerden continued to race in France for a while, finishing ninth in the Paris-Montargis race in late June, 1978. However, faced with total exclusion from European amateur races, Van Heerden returned to South Africa and in August 1978 he won the national road championship held in Pretoria over 177km in a time of 4:45.4. He was clearly preparing to challenge for final victory in the Rapport Toer in October 1978. However, the overall winner of the event proved to be the Portuguese rider, Marco Chagas, with van Heerden taking the points title for the sixth time.

Nevertheless, van Heerden’s European amateur successes had attracted the attention of professional cycling teams and he signed a two year contract with the French professional Peugeot team whose members included Bernard Thévenet. (9)  It was reported that the Peugeot pro squad would pay van Heerden the equivalent of ZAR600 per month and ZAR80 for every event he completed. ⁽¹⁰

 

 

Edited July 13, 2021 by TNT1

[DieselnDust]

5 minutes ago, TNT1 said:

The Idol raced as a South African.

 

Ah thanks you nailed it. The history comes back. He did use a European license while he was there though. Scratching for the info. I know I saved it somewhere

Edited July 13, 2021 by DieselnDust

[TNT1]

As a side note, one of the earliest memories I have of South Africa is staying at The Idol's flat when my old man came here to race the Rapport Toer.

[DieselnDust]

2 minutes ago, TNT1 said:

As a side note, one of the earliest memories I have of South Africa is staying at The Idol's flat when my old man came here to race the Rapport Toer.

What was your dad's name? I followed the rapport tour from around 1980 already

[TNT1]

1 minute ago, DieselnDust said:

What was your dad's name? I followed the rapport tour from around 1980 already

Mike McBeath, but he didn't ride the Toer again after he rode in the Olympics in '80.

[Long Wheel Base]

10 minutes ago, TNT1 said:

As a side note, one of the earliest memories I have of South Africa is staying at The Idol's flat when my old man came here to race the Rapport Toer.

So you not originally from here? Where you from?

 

Don't worry, googled it.

Edited July 13, 2021 by Long Wheel Base

[DieselnDust]

15 minutes ago, TNT1 said:

Mike McBeath, but he didn't ride the Toer again after he rode in the Olympics in '80.

I know the name , Zimbabwean?

Edited July 13, 2021 by DieselnDust

[DieselnDust]

 cycling heritage you can be proud of!

[TNT1]

2 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

 cycling heritage you can be proud of!

Yeah, I got good jeans.

[DieselnDust]

https://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/lightweight_extras/racing-under-the-radar-south-africas-apartheid-era-ghost-riders-in-the-pelotons-of-european-road-cycling/

 

The article referenced by TNT1 above. Its a really good read. It' was a memory jog for me and unraveled history that has seen different peoples histories intertwined into one person, probably because he was the best we had at the time and therefore most famous