THE INSIDER

What can we learn from a South African Tour de France coach and his riders? Plenty. As well as what it's really like behind the scenes...

When Tadej Pogačar swept to an unlikely time-trial victory in the penultimate stage of the 2020 Tour de France, taking not just a flailing Primož Roglič but most of the world by surprise, it was no fluke. No flash-in-the-pan lucky ride. Victory on this difficult stage was crafted with military precision by his Team UAE Emirates coaching staff - with its heavy South African presence.

One of the cycle-scientists behind the remarkable win was former Capetonian John Wakefield, who'd already been with UAE Emirates for a year, and has just recently moved to Team BORA-hansgrohe. Beyond his team duties, he still coaches many elite and you-and-I-level riders, as well as running the state-of-the-art Science to Sport lab in his new home, Girona in Spain.

So how does a lean Saffa mountain goat find himself taking calls from Tour de France champions close to midnight, and why? (More on that later.) And what's it really like, being part of the Tour de France - the greatest show on earth?

"I always had an interest in training - like, from my motocross days, I almost preferred the training to the racing itself. And then I got badly injured, and found I enjoyed my recovery too; the rehab, the process. Through that I rode bicycles, a mountain bike; and because I couldn't do motocross anymore, I landed up racing bicycles."

This is not an uncommon theme. One of Wakefield's coaching success stories is double Absa Cape Epic champion Matt Beers, whose path from injured throttle-twister to pedalling champ has been similar.

"I found I really enjoyed it. And I did okay for an old man! I met Dr Jeroen Swart [the founder of Science to Sport] through a mutual friend; and even though we didn't really hit it off when we first met, there was mutual respect for each other.