Posts Tagged ‘kevin richards’
Winning All African ITU title at Club Mykono 1998
Club Mykonons on the West coast of South Africa is 2 hrs north of Cape Town. It used to be a quiet, quaint rip off of the village Mykonos, Greece. The ocean always freezing- the swim was in the marina- for one of the turn buoys you had to go between the hulls of a huge catamaran. Once you go inland it gets very hot, glaringly bright, with the wind always pumping.
Life on the road…
Life on the road. By Conrad Stoltz
France, 1996.
Triathlon heaven, those years. I was the youngest of a handful of South Africans racing for a village called Cahors in the Sud Ouest of France. Every weekend we’d travel to races, chasing money, glory and adventure.
Getting to races was tricky, and usually we’d hitch rides with French fellow club members. If races were far away we had to take the train, and depended on race organizers to meet us at the station.
I was on a hot streak and decided to travel the 6 hours by train to Narbonne for “le Triathlon Internationale de Narbonne”. I traveled solo, and as it was a relatively big race, the organizer agreed to meet me at the train station and provide accommodation for a night. Once at Narbonne station, the story took a twist:
They call me “the Caveman.” I am: 6ft 3, weigh 85kg, 33 or 34 (?) years old. Professional triathlete for the past 16 years. I am an African. (Gets me funny looks in America)
Life on the road. By Conrad Stoltz
France, 1996.
Triathlon heaven, those years. I was the youngest of a handful of South Africans racing for a village called Cahors. Every weekend we’d travel to races, chasing money, glory and adventure.