The Tour d’Afrique, the world’s toughest cycling race, which stretches from Cairo to Cape Town and covers 10 African countries over a distance of 12 000km, crossed the official finish line on Saturday in Cape Town.
Sixty-three intrepid cyclists representing 12 countries rode into the V&A Waterfront after a gruelling 96 days of cycling, to the applause of hundreds of supporters.
South African Joan Louwrens won the lady’s race, with Phillipa Le roux (South Africa) and Christa Meier (Switzerland) in second and third positions.
Matthew Caretti from the United States was the winner of the men’s race, with George Oertel (South Africa) and Urs Luethi (Switzerland) finishing in second and third respectively.
Louwrens said before the race started: ”I consider myself African and have long desired to travel overland through my continent.
”I have [dedicated] my effort to St Luke’s Hospice, who will be raising funds through a sponsorship plan via their website.” She was one of nine South Africans to cycle the entire distance.
On Tuesday, Louwrens told the Mail & Guardian Online that her win was unexpected because she ”didn’t do this ride to race it”.
”For me, I love living outdoors and just to wake up every morning and watch the sun rise, looking out of my tent at night … I’ll never have that again in my life,” she said.
Some of her highlights included the beauty of the deserts and meeting the local people. The lowlight was the ”absolutely horrible” roads in Kenya, she said.
Henry Gold, the Tour d’Afrique founder, told the M&G Online that the race went ”very smoothly”.
”There were no major issues that we had to deal with. [The race] went very well and we were very pleased, although we had some injuries, which is expected in an event like this,” he said.
A press release from Tour d’Afrique on Monday said that amidst drumming and dancing by local Cape Town performers, the cyclists were applauded and welcomed by Capetonians and the Consul Generals of various countries at an arrival ceremony.
Participants came from The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Belgium, the US and France. They started their 120-day journey on January 14, from the ancient pyramids on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt, and faced over three months of devoted cycling — an average of 125km a day — with only 23 days of rest.
Registration for Tour d’Afrique 2007 has opened. For cyclists considering participating in next year’s tour, an information evening will be held on Wednesday May 17 at 6.30pm at Breakwater Lodge in Cape Town in lecture theatre four.
Tour d’Afrique 2006 sections from start to finish
Cairo to Khartoum
Khartoum to Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa to Nairobi
Nairobi to Iringa
Iringa to Lilongwe
Lilongwe to Victoria Falls
Victoria falls to Windhoek
Windhoek to Cape Town
On the net
www.tourdafrique.com