At Tuesday night?s banquet, Lance Armstrong spoke about George Hincapie, and how his great friend and team-mate would probably never have won a Tour de France, but was as fine a lieutenant as any cycling champion has ever had. It?s not glamorous work, but it?s absolutely vital, grinding through the Tour for the glory of someone else; on Wednesday afternoon, in a small charity peloton far removed from professional riding, Armstrong encountered Hincapie?s cricketing counterpart ? and a man who could still make a fine domestique were he to give cycling a real go.

It?s doubtful that there?s a fitter person on the planet than Makhaya Ntini, famous for running to games rather than taking the bus, hosting spinning classes at his gym in East London (and riding to the gym and back), and being chronically incapable of sitting still. Where Obelix fell into a cauldron of magic potion as a kid, so Makhaya fell into a large can of Red Bull, and his relentlessly energy is marvelled at wherever he goes: in this case, 75 kilometres through pouring rain from Lourensford Wine Estate to Arabella, a ride led by Armstrong, but played out to the unbroken chorus of South Africa?s most popular fast bowler.

The ride itself was the prize event on Lance?s three-day visit to Cape Town in support of the JAG Foundation, R175 000 (or 101 Test matches for South Africa) getting you one of 40 spots on a brisk meander along the Betty?s Bay coastal road in the company of a man who?d warmed up for three hours beforehand as part of his Tour de France training for this year. His reward? Ntini cheerfully issuing a challenge every time a hill arrived, followed by the cricketer flying up with a broad smile, and usually a burst of song in an impromptu combination of languages.

It added a unique edge to a peloton Armstrong later proclaimed the quickest and fittest he?d encountered in a charity ride; whether it was inspiration from Ntini, or a desire to escape his singing, a discordant triumph of volume over tone, the JAG riders swept through the 75 kilometres at nearly 30 kilometres an hour, no mean effort given the hills and the rain. And if Ntini responded to the effort required by sweeping into the hotel at Arabella with another burst of song taken from the ?Idols? bloopers reel, then his fellow riders weren?t too far behind in broad grins and healthy demeanour.

That was matched by Lance at the dinner, as he raised a great cheer by announcing that Cape Town would definitely be seeing a lot more of him; and after paying tribute to the international reputation of the Cape Argus Pick ?n Pay Cycle Tour, which he?ll ride on Sunday, he made a couple of mentions of the Absa Cape Epic and his love of mountain biking, adding to the swirl of rumours that he?ll be taking on the race in 2011, if 2010 does turn out to be his final Tour de France.

And once Lance had finished speaking ? and bantering with Phil Liggett, the highlight being his response to Liggett?s comment that the commentary great had done 37 Tours (?and you haven?t won one??) ? he joined the bidding for a selection of items, which included a bespoke trip to this year?s Tour, with access to a morning team meeting with the Radio Shack crew. Close on half a million rand later, and the JAG Foundation was looking in even ruder health...

...but not as good health as Ntini, who has a Standard Bank Pro20 final to play in on Friday (tickets already sold out), before departing for India on Sunday for season three of the Lalit Modi Benefit Series. It might be his last, as the cricket career draws to a close, but the sporting career might not be quite done yet; Makhaya Ntini the cricketer may bid us farewell shortly, but Makhaya Ntini the cyclist might only just be finding his feet. Another South African to join Radio Shack? You heard it here first.