{"id":2173,"date":"2011-06-10T06:29:29","date_gmt":"2011-06-10T04:29:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/?p=2173"},"modified":"2011-06-10T06:29:29","modified_gmt":"2011-06-10T04:29:29","slug":"bobby-and-giniel-a-specialized-off-road-pair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/bobby-and-giniel-a-specialized-off-road-pair\/","title":{"rendered":"Bobby and Giniel a Specialized off-road pair"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bobby Behan, the Irishman behind the \u00fcber-successful Specialized mountain biking and triathlon teams, put his expertise to the test when he saddled up with former Dakar rally champ Giniel de Villiers<\/a> to ride last month’s Subaru sani2c.<\/p>\n

The global sports marketing manager cancelled a trip to the second round of the triathlon world championship series in Japan to be at this year’s race, after work commitments forced him to give up his 2010 entry.<\/p>\n

“I heard from Burry Stander and Greg Minnaar that nothing comes close to the sani2c, so I was super, super excited to be there,” says Behan.<\/p>\n

The Stellenbosch residents were one of a number of celebrity pairings – including former Springbok captains Corn\u00e9 Krige<\/a> and Tiaan Strauss<\/a> – at the three-day event.<\/p>\n

Approximately 1 300 teams took part in the off-road journey between Underberg and Scottburgh in southern KwaZulu-Natal.<\/p>\n

Behan says mountain biking forms the core of the South African’s rally training, which made him a perfect addition to Specialized’s sponsorship programme alongside the likes of former Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button.<\/p>\n

The globetrotting 35-year-old logs around 200 000 air miles and spends approximately 200 days away from his adopted home each year.<\/p>\n

The constant travel makes his training schedule difficult to maintain. “Some weeks I manage to ride four or five times, others twice.”<\/p>\n

Behan says he clearly remembers the day he arrived in Stellenbosch. “It’s funny, but I knew there and then that I had just discovered the best town in the world.”<\/p>\n

It was 1999 and he was looking for a sunny spot in the southern hemisphere for pre-season training when he stumbled across the picturesque town.<\/p>\n

“I needed to find somewhere warm after a pretty successful season racing in the US,” recalls Behan. “Boston gets cold in the winter and Ireland wet!”<\/p>\n

It was there in the Western Cape’s wine country that he first met De Villiers, world mountain biking champion Christoph Sauser and multiple Xterra world titlist Conrad Stoltz<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Two years later, despite doing relatively well on the professional circuit, Behan says he realised he was “never going to be a Jan Frodeno”. Low on funds, he took a job at Oakley back in his native Emerald Isle.<\/p>\n

But in 2004 the urge to compete surfaced again. Much to his surprise, he placed fifth in his first international outing and went on to win the Irish national title.<\/p>\n

He quit his job and returned to South Africa to focus full-time on triathlon. “My love affair with the country had never ceased and Susi and I remained the best of friends. It was good to be back.”<\/p>\n

When the Swiss signed with the Specialized global mountain biking team in 2006, Behan got the chance to check out their tyre-testing programme first-hand. “It was pretty cool.”<\/p>\n

After the team manager resigned, Sauser recommended Behan – who got the job. “I managed Specialized racing from 2006 to 2009; it was a great period with many fond memories.”<\/p>\n

Some of the highlights included Sauser’s victories in the world marathon (2007) and cross-country (2008) championships.<\/p>\n

“It gave me so much pleasure to sign Burry, who I believe is a great talent. He can go a long, long way.”<\/p>\n

Almost by default, Behan progressed into the role of global sports marketing manager for mountain biking, which necessitated a move to Specialized’s California headquarters in 2008.<\/p>\n

Never one to rest on his laurels, he also asked to take on the triathlon programme. “No one was actively looking after the sport and I felt improvements could be made.”<\/p>\n

Adapting many of the elements and structures from the successful mountain biking side – including mechanics, soigneurs and support vehicles – Behan set about creating what is now arguably also the best triathlon programme in the world.<\/p>\n

Last year, the team won seven world titles – five from triathlon and two in mountain biking.<\/p>\n

“One can never get complacent,” says Behan. “The way we approach the team and the programmes is constantly evolving.”<\/p>\n

Visit www.sani2c.co.za, join the official Facebook group or follow sani2c_scoop on Twitter.<\/p>\n

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Specialized's global manager for triathlon and mountain biking Bobby Behan (pictured here) and rally star Giniel de Villiers formed a high-profile team at the recent Subaru sani2c. Photo: Gary Perkin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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