Joel Stransky, former Springbok rugby fly-half turned businessman is now the CEO of Hertz Southern Africa and a rugby commentator for Super Sport.
“In a way it was difficult to find my feet after retiring from professional rugby as it had been such a huge part of my life. But in another sense it was somewhat of a relief because I had been struggling with an injury. It took a little while but I think I settled back into some form of normal life pretty smoothly.”
Joel Stransky
To keep fit, Stransky cycles and plays in a friendly soccer league. He has spent the last three years training on a mountain bike and will be riding the Absa Cape Epic for the 3rd time in 2012.
“After I completed my first Absa Cape Epic the bug definitely bit and now I’m addicted to endurance events and cycling!” Stransky enthuses. “Every year the race gets harder and the route is more challenging. I’m participating with a new partner this year too. It’s something I want to conquer again - to prove to myself that I can do it!”
Next on Stransky’s bucket list is the Full Iron Man. “But I
swim like a rock so it might be a bigger challenge than the Absa Cape Epic,” he
jokes.
His previous experience with the Absa Cape Epic has afforded him excellent technical skills and this will be his race strength going into this year’s event. “I have also learnt to pace myself,” says Stransky. “One needs to have enough energy to survive the full eight days which is no easy feat. You can’t start too quick too soon.”
As a member of Team Absa, he will be riding to support LumoHawk- a charity organisation started by Stransky. The name is derived from the luminous Mohican hair piece he wears on his helmet during the Absa Cape Epic. The charity mainly supports a number of educational efforts, such as paying school fees for HIV orphans, sponsoring senior students with their studies or boarding, and assisting in the training of teachers who have no teaching education.
Stransky currently resides in Bryanston, Johannesburg, with his wife Karen, and two children, Sabrina and Matthew.
“The hardest part of the race for me has been the long hours of training and sacrifice of time away from my family,” says Stransky. “I have been training about 16 hours a week. I am most looking forward to the atmosphere in the rider village every night; the camaraderie and the feeling of accomplishment knowing that we have all suffered and conquered equally will be amazing!”
This year, Stransky is paired with financial journalist and deputy editor of the Financial Mail, Max Gebhardt. Together they are known as the Absa Mountain Ghosts.
Gebhardt has also been riding a mountain bike for the last
three years and his strength lies in the uphill climbs. “Because of my weight I
go up the hills quicker, but that also means that I have less momentum on the
down hills,” Gebhardt jokes.
Gebhardt started cycling at the age of 16, but his passion for mountain biking only started in 2008 with the influence of his brother, Karl. He has since completed various stage races including the inaugural Grape Escape and the Tour de Tuli. This will be his first attempt at the Absa Cape Epic.
Max Gebhardt
Gebhardt resides in Parkhurst, Johannesburg with his wife, Jennifer and their two young daughters, Emily and Hannah. When he is not chasing a print
deadline or training on his mountain bike, Gebhardt enjoys fly fishing and spending
time with his family.
He will be riding in Team Absa 2102 to raise funds and
awareness for the Rally to READ campaign, an important rural literacy education
project that supplies South Africa’s most remote schools with resources and
training, aimed at improving literacy levels in the country.
Karl Platt and Christoph Sauser win NTT Masters category in fine style
