'I do expect South Africa to get a medal in Paris' - Gibbons
In the third and final part of our interview, Ryan Gibbons looks ahead to the Olympics
On Christmas Eve 1898, Louis Renault took a bet he could drive his first car, the Renault Voiturette, up the climb of the Rue Lépic in Montmartre, Paris. He won, taking his “Little Car”, with its bicycle-like driveshaft, up the winding roads past the steep 13 percent section of the climb of Rue Lépic.
“He converted his De Dion-Bouton tricycle into a small, four-wheeled vehicle and added another of his inventions that would soon propel the motor car into a new era: the ‘direct drive’, the first gearbox. It instantly dethroned the transmission chains and cogs that had been used until then,” wrote Tommy Lind.
“Although they were incredulous at first, his friends were soon forced to believe their eyes. Not only did Louis win his bet, he also pocketed his first 12 firm orders, along with cash deposits.”
On August 3, 2024 Ryan Gibbons may be taking a bet that the cobbled climb of the Butte Montmartre up Rue Lépic will be the make-or-break moment of the men’s Olympic road race. It is just over 1km long at an average of 6.5 percent and will be ridden three times in the final 40km of the 273km. From the top of the climb, at the foot of the basilica of Sacré-Coeur, the views are spectacular, wrote Julian Barnes: “From the terrace of the Sacré-Coeur all Paris lies before you. From here, as the architectural critic Ian Nairn noted, the Louvre looks like ‘the biggest railway station in the world’.”
The Olympic literature calls the climb “epic”, “brutal” “iconic”, “spectacular” with “bone-rattling paves”. It will be the point in the race where Gibbons may have to make some cash deposits of his own in timing an attack. The profile of the race suits Gibbons, a puncheur by nature and a leadout man by trade. The rolling hills and short, sharp climbs play to his strengths.
“I am looking forward to not having to ride for someone else and experience the Olympics. With teams only having a maximum of four riders it does change the dynamics. I’m the only rider for South Africa, but it does give me the opportunity to go in a breakaway and ride for myself,” said Gibbons.
“I’ve got to be a little bit ambitious. It is a route that does suit me. Realistically, I can aim for a top 10, and that’s my goal. Higher would be better, and if the chance is there I will go for it, but I think top 10 is attainable.”
South African cycling has been pushing the limits of its ambitions this year, with the mountain bikers leading the charge. Alan Hatherly, the 2018 under-23 world champion, currently leads the UCI World Cup Olympic cross country standings, having won in Les Gets, France earlier in July. Candice Lill took second in Les Gets, her best World Cup podium in a year that has seen the 32-year-old improve in leaps and bounds. They were backed up by Greg Minnaar, who took second in the downhill at the age of 42.
“South African cycling has been going through a great time. To see Greg Minnaar being so consistent and getting results down the years. Then Alan and Candice getting podiums in the World Cup, and Alan leading the series. It bodes really, really well for the Olympics and I do expect South Africa to get a medal in Paris,” said Gibbons.
He will be one of six Lidl-Trek riders at the Olympics, along with Belgian Jasper Stuyven, Danes Mads Pedersen and Mattias Skjelmose, Czech Mathias Vacek and Toms Skujins of Latvia. As the only South African in Paris, he will look for wheels, breaks, opportunities and no small amount of luck, perhaps latching on to some of his teammates.
“This team is very different. I know it sounds cliched and cheesy to say this, but it really feels like a family,” said Gibbons. “At UAE we also had a women’s team and a development team, but we never really saw them at all, whereas with this team we do training camps, launches and activations together. The team also care for you more as a person. If you are sick and at home the team will tell you to take all the time you need. They don’t see you as a cog in the machine.
“At UAE, riders will tell the management they are sick and will get asked, ‘Are you too sick to start? Just start and see what you can do.’ Whereas with Lidl-Trek this year I got quite sick at the beginning of the season, they told me to go back to South Africa and told me they didn’t want to see me on a bike for a month. I thought, that’s incredible, and I was almost expecting for them to change their mind and tell me to come back, but they wanted me to take my time to recover. Your programme will stay as is,” said Gibbons, who has just finished his second Tour de France.
“The perception about the Tour de France, with all the media attention and people who don’t know enough about the sport, is it is the hardest of the Grand Tours. It’s all Tour de France, Tour de France. I believe it is actually the easiest of the Grand Tours. There’s a lot more stress, a lot more pressure and a lot more noise around it, but the Giro is way harder in terms of weather conditions, the length of the stages, the craziness of the mountain stages.
“The Vuelta always has way more climbing, it’s hotter and there are more mountain-top stages. Guys are on a different level at the Tour de France, but it’s definitely not the hardest at all.”
The Olympic site describes the men’s road race thus: “From the foot of the Eiffel Tower, past the Château de Versailles, north towards Saint-Germain-en-Laye, a loop through the Yvelines département, around the Vallée de Chevreuse, a mecca for cycling in the Paris region, with its rugged terrain. The route back to Paris will again take in the Hauts-de-Seine department, before heading for the north-east of the capital, where the riders will discover a final circuit. The final kilometres will take them to the Pont d’Iéna, the scene of the final sprint to the Trocadéro.”
Expect to see Gibbons there or thereabouts in those final kilometres. He won’t be riding in a Renault, but you wouldn’t want to bet against him being in the mix in Montmartre in the 18th arrondissement on August 3.