POLITICS,
INTRIGUE &
COLLUSION
Triathlete and one-time
roadie Donovan van Gelder
is an avid cycling fan. He
tells us why he loves the
richness of the spectacle,
the planning and the passion that delivers
an addictive high-speed game of chess.
32 | TO U R
D E F R A NC E 2019
et me begin by
writing that I am
a triathlete. My
first competitive
ride was between a swim
and a run in 1986. I did my
first bicycle race in 1988
to improve my cycling for
triathlon at the insistence
of my mentors at the time.
I have done many one day
and stage races since then
and I am proud to say that I
have won a few. I have even
had a few periods in my
sporting career where I was a
specialist roadie, but I always
come back to triathlon as
my main athletic focus. I love
the clinical, controlled nature
of a non-drafting triathlon.
In triathlon, the best athlete
on the day, barring mishap,
will always win. But… I don’t
really like watching triathlon. I
would be hard-pressed to tell
L
you who the best triathletes in
the world are at this moment
in time. The same things
that draw me to racing and
training for a triathlon, make
it boring for me to watch. The
results are too predictable. I
appreciate the performances
and what went in to achieving
them but I am not a ‘fan’ of
triathlon as a spectator.
Bike racing is a completely
different story. In cycling,
the strongest rider hardly
ever wins…
I can still remember the
first time I saw a European
professional race on TV. It
was in 1986 at the Garden
and Home Expo in Durban,
where my father was working
for a kitchen company. A local
bike shop had a stand and I
spent a whole evening riveted
to their small TV, watching
a recording of Robert Millar