At 08:30 every Tuesday, Georg Kasperkovitz is seated at the head of a boardroom table. It is this then that he reviews forecasts, capital allocation and risk exposure of a multinational industrial company headquartered in Austria. As CEO, the decision making he presides over in that room shapes the organisation, and well beyond it.

By that time, he has usually already done a session in the pool. In the early evening, he cycles or runs while there is still light, sometimes returning to emails afterwards. Longer sessions are reserved for the weekend. Mondays are recovery. The sessions are scheduled months in advance and treated as equal to his other professional commitments.

Although Georg trained as a mechanical engineer, his mind has always worked in systems, paying attention to how variables connect and influence one another. He follows the data gathered by his exercise devices with fascination, noticing patterns, though the numbers never replace the work itself. “Whatever I lack in natural talent, I make up for with my approach, and passion.”

When summer fades and the snow levels rise, bikes and running shoes make way for skis. The roads are not ideal for long rides then, so he heads into the mountains instead for ski touring and mountaineering to maintain a consistent training load and keep his body moving through colder months.

“I don’t mind putting in effort or dealing with discomfort if it leads to new experiences and powerful emotions.”

Georg has witnessed, first hand, how preparation, however careful, cannot remove uncertainty. While participating in the Crocodile Trophy, he and his partner collided with a kangaroo that crossed their path, at speed. The impact brought them down hard. They were fortunate to escape serious injury, though the bikes did not. After assessing the damage and making some repairs, they managed to get back on and continue, eventually finishing the race.

His sense of adventure is clear to all and this curiosity now leads him to the start line of the Nedbank Gravel Burn for the first time. At home, Georg announcing he will be heading off to a remote region to ride another multi-day race barely raises eyebrows. His family knows that part of him. What draws him to this one, he says, is “the cocktail of cycling, nature, scenery, interesting people and cultures, and of course racing.”

At 60, he approaches it with a healthy perspective. “Feels more like leisure,” he says. “Manageable distances, fast fun riding, not too much climbing, more comfortable tents. There is still competition, and there is also time to look up, to take it in where you are and experience the week rather than simply complete it.”

He began endurance sport later in life – something he seems to regret somewhat. “If I could speak to my 30 year old self, the advice would be straightforward. ‘Why did you wait so long? Work less. Live more.’”

He now mentors students from less privileged backgrounds, many of them at the beginning of their own careers. “Resilience is what I learn from them.”

The boardroom will still be there when the race ends. The emails will have accumulated and the next financial quarter will demand his full attention again. But those endless stretches of gravel, winding climbs and shared stories around the fire in the evenings at the Burn Camps are sure to remain with Georg long after the week is over.