In this the first of a three-part series we discover who cycling legend and famous local commentator Johnny Koen considers the top five South African road cyclists of the 1980s.
Alan van Heerden is in Johnny Koen’s top-five list of the best South African road cyclists of the 1980s. Photo: Wimpie van der Merwe/Facebook
Koen kicks off his list with the remarkable Alan van Heerden, who was the first ever South African to win a Grand Tour stage – at the Giro d’Italia in 1979.
Fellow cycling legend Robbie Hunter has also labelled Van Heerden the best rider the nation has ever produced.
Van Heerden died from injuries sustained in a car accident in 2009 at the age of 57.
“In my opinion he was the best cyclist ever in SA – 1 000 race victories, a Giro d’Italia stage win, plus something like 66 Rapport Toer stage wins and two Rapport Toer victories,” said Koen.
“Alan could win any road event with the exception of the most mountainous ones abroad. He was the first SA cyclist to turn professional in Europe.”
Next up in Koen’s view is the 57-year-old Willie Engelbrecht, who has won the Cape Town Cycle Tour five times and has more than 1 000 other titles under his belt.
Among his more recent top results was a bronze medal in the road race at the 1994 Commonwealth Games.
Koen feels Engelbrecht was “more difficult to beat than Alan van Heerden”.
“When he was at his best it was impossible to win even a damn hotspot at that time. Willie won the Rapport Toer and completely dominated the SA pro scene during his tenure.”
The third rider on Koen’s list is Robert McIntosh, 66, who was one of the first professional cyclists in the country.
“[He had] an amazing four Rapport Toer victories, along with several of the big multi- and single-day races in SA,” said Koen.
“‘Rambo’ Robbie was the toughest of them all.
“We always joked that he was only at his best once he had broken his collarbone . . . on a rainy day! Simply unrelenting!”
The 60-year-old legend Mark Beneke is next on Koen’s list.
“Two Rapport Toer victories and several SA tours and single-day classics wins” made him a worthy candidate, said Koen.
“Mark could have won even more if, I fear, cycling didn’t bore him, as it always looked to be doing!”
The final rider on his list is Ernst Bezuidenhout, better known by his nickname Ertjies.
Bezuidenhout won the Rapport Tour in 1984 and the Argus three times in 1981, 1982 and 1986.
He passed away in 2012 at the age of 56 after suffering a massive stroke.
“This list would be incomplete without Ertjies’s inclusion,” said Koen.
“The best SA climber, possibly of all time, he was a Rapport Toer winner and took the King of the Mountain title at least once in every Tour he competed in.”
Read: Johnny Koen’s top five SA road cyclists of the ’90s and 2000s.
