A Swiss double-amputee and 35 other ultra-distance cyclists started off from the Giza pyramids on Saturday on the second Cairo-to-Cape 10 000km cycling race.
The 120-day race, assisted in part by the Egyptian Tourism Ministry, follows a route that zigzags through Egypt, Sudan and eight countries in Eastern and Southern Africa. The cyclists are expected to complete 100km a day and reach Cape Town, South Africa, on May 15.
Armin Khli — along with cyclists from 11 countries — is cycling in support of efforts to clear land mines while also raising the profile of disability issues in Africa, according to a press release by Tour d’Afrique.
American David Sylvester will ride in memory of a close friend killed in the September 11 attacks, the release said.
”All riders are here to foster international peace and cooperation, showing the world that ordinary people can do extraordinary things,” the release said.
In Egypt, the cyclists are scheduled to race to the Red Sea, return west to the Nile and cycle down the river as far as the Pharaonic temples of Abu Simbel at Egypt’s southern border, and then take a ferry to Sudan on January 29, the Egyptian Tourism Ministry said in a statement.
Proceeds from the one of the longest, most demanding bike races in the world will go to the Geneva Call and the Swiss Foundation for Humanitarian Mine Action, the Tour d’Afrique statement said. — Sapa-AP