Paul Furbank redefines what it means to age gracefully on two wheels.
Wade Wallace
In the remote gravel roads in South Africa’s Great Karoo, between Gwanishi and Shamwari during the inaugural Nedbank Gravel Burn, most competitors were simply trying to survive the brutal 112 km Stage 7 finale. Pros battled for podium positions while amateur riders fought to simply make it to the finish. But weaving his way through the field was a 70-year-old man who would post times and placings that left many wondering if there had been a mistake in the results.
There was no mistake. Paul Furbank, who turned 70 this past February, didn’t just finish the inaugural Gravel Burn, he dominated his age category and posted stage times that would have placed him respectably in the professional men’s field. On several stages, he rode times that would have put him mid-pack among the pros. Over the week, his total time of 24 hours, 57 minutes, and 52 seconds put him 71st overall out of 317 men’s competitors in all fields, and ahead of numerous riders decades younger, including myself. His time would’ve been good for fourth and 10th place overall, respectively, in the amateur men 19-34 and 35-39 fields.
A late bloomer who never stopped blooming
“I was born in Kenilworth, Warwickshire [England],” Furbank told me, “but we came out to South Africa in 1966. My dad was an engineer on a skills-exchange thing. You came for three years, and you either went back or stayed on. A lot stayed on.” He’s been here ever since. “Yeah,” he laughed, “I support the Springboks.”
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