'THE
GORGE' GIVES WAY TO 'MELTDOWN MADNESS' ON
WEEK 6 OF THE TOUR
D'AFRIQUE
Tour d'Afrique, the
annual 12 000-kilometer bicycle
race/expedition from Cairo to Cape Town,
billed as the most grueling bicycle race
on earth, has completed its 6th week of
the 16 week odyssey and the 2nd section
from Khartoum to Addis Ababa known as 'The
Gorge'.
"The scenery in
Ethiopia has been absolutely beautiful."
reported Canadian racer, Andrew
Cameron.
South African
expedition rider, Patrick Thomas, said "I
reckon it's the most beautiful country in
the world."
While the cycling has
been tough, the road surfaces have been
good in Ethiopia with the cyclists
covering distances of up to 160-kilometres
a day.
Over the past week they
have cycled to an elevation of over 3000
metres above sea level. "Even the
Swiss riders among us were saying that
they had never been that high on a bike
before!" said Cameron.
The riders enjoyed a
rest day in Addis Ababa last week where
they took the time to rest, visit Africa's
largest market and generally catch up on
correspondence and bike maintenance before
they started on the third section of the
Tour d'Afrique known as 'Meltdown
Madness'.
On this 18 day,
1630-kilometre section the terrain changes
from the rolling highlands of Ethiopia to
flatter countryside interspersed with
beautiful lakes. On crossing from Ethiopia
into Kenya later this week the riders will
experience the challenge of riding through
the volcanic desert of Dida Gilgo on an
unpaved lava rock road. They will
cycle around majestic Mount Kenya, cross
the equator and undergo some of the most
drastic elevation changes as they cycle
towards the halfway point of the Tour,
Nairobi.
Celebrated blind
cyclist from Nairobi, Douglas Sidialo and
his pilot, Joash Aswani are riding strong
in 5th position overall and achieved a
stage win last week on the 110km ride from
Lake Koka to Lake Lagano.
Dutch racer, Adrie
Frijters still holds the overall lead in
the men's race, with Eric Sechler of
Sweden, 2 hours and 49 seconds behind
him. Due to a wrist injury, Janet
Alexander from New Zealand who won the
first section, dropped into second
position on 'The Gorge' section, with Eva
Nijssen of Holland taking the lead in the
women's race by close on 48
hours.
After a rest day in Yabello on Tuesday
this week, the riders will head off
towards the border and cross into Northern
Kenya on Thursday. They are expected
to arrive in Nairobi on Sunday 11th March
The TDA 2007
has just reached the end of the 'The
Gorge', the second stage in the tour. TDA
staff member Rachel Dobson sends this
exclusive report: "Currently we are in
Addis Ababa (or just 'Addis' as the locals
refer to it as) the capital city of
Ethiopia. We have been in our new country
for a little over 2 weeks and the time is
flying by so quickly it is hard to keep
track of where we have past and where we
are heading. The northern part of Ethiopia
is incredibly beautiful and wild and each
day has been a contrast to the day before.
It is a remarkably different type of
beauty to the one we experienced in the
Sudan. It has been nice to get the sand
out of our eyes, ears, mouth, hair,
clothes and tents, enjoy some paved roads
and stop 'eating dust' as trucks and buses
whiz by. But, as everyone well knows,
there is a balance to everything and
although the riders have been blessed with
great riding conditions, stone throwing
Ethiopian children have been added into
the mix . Most of the riders were taken by
surprise at the rolling hills and
mountainous terrain in Ethiopia as well as
how green a country it is. Each night they
have been inspired and haunted by the
words, 'monster climb' or 'rolling hills'
or 'wicked descent' in describing the day
ahead! The rest day in Addis has been
welcomed by many of the riders.
Read
More...
Riders
wishing to cycle a section of the Tour
d'Afrique 2007 still have time to decide.
Contact our office for section
registration deadlines. Perhaps one of the
following:
CONQUERING "THE
GORGE" - WEEK 6 OF THE TOUR
D'AFRIQUE
Tour
d'Afrique, the annual 12 000-kilometer
bicycle race/expedition from Cairo to Cape
Town, billed as the most grueling bicycle
race on earth, has just completed its 6th
week of the 16 week odyssey. The
cyclists are currently riding through
Ethiopia on the section known as 'The
Gorge'. experiencing the many changes that
occur as they travel from the Arabic
Muslim world of Northern Africa into the
more tribal and traditional nature of the
Horn of Africa.
In sharp
contrast to the dry and dusty desert
landscape of Sudan, the riders have been
challenged by the rolling highlands of
Ethiopia, mischievous, stone-throwing
children, thunder storms and the infamous
Blue Nile Gorge, which they tackled on
Sunday.
Riding
'The Gorge' involved an 18km switchback
descent along a gravel road, losing about
1000 m in altitude, crossing the Blue Nile
River and then riding 22 km uphill to an
elevation of 2500 m.
"It sounds
brutal, and it is." said Tour Leader,
Shanny Hill. "The road is steep in
places, bumpy, rocky and seriously busy
with traffic and people."
Due to
heavy rainfall the night before there was
a huge jam up of vehicles on the way down
which didn't affect the riders, but did
delay the support trucks by three
hours.
"It was an
awesome feeling looking at the sweeping
views across The Gorge from our campsite
on the other side and seeing the road we
had cycled down and up."
A time
trial was held for the day which saw
Christopher Maund of the UK achieve the
distance in the fastest time - 1 hour 39
minutes. Eva Nijisen of the
Netherlands was the fastest female rider,
who covered the distance in 2 hours 11
minutes.
The riders
are scheduled to arrive in Addis Ababa,
capital of Ethiopia, on Tuesday this week,
where they will enjoy a rest
day.
For
regular updates and more information visit
www.tourdafrique.com
TOUR D'AFRIQUE
BICYCLE RACE
On the Elephant
Highway
Toronto, Canada (April
26) - Tour d'Afrique, the annual 12
000-kilometer trans continental bicycle
race/expedition from Cairo to Cape Town,
billed as the most gruelling bicycle race
on earth, is currently travelling through
Namibia, en route to its final
destination, South Africa. The Tour is
scheduled to arrive in Cape Town on
Saturday 13th May.
The current section,
known as 'The Elephant Highway', covers a
distance of 1650 km's from Victoria Falls,
Zambia, through Botswana to Windhoek,
Namibia. While the roads are paved
and mostly flat, the unique challenge of
this section for the cyclists is finding
the mental and physical stamina to cover
distances of up to 200 km's a day as well
as dodging elephant and other wildlife
that roam freely through
Botswana.
In the men's race,
Matthew Caretti (USA) still maintains the
lead position, with George Oertel (South
Africa) and Urs Leuthi (Switzerland) in
second and third positions.
Joan Louwrens (South
Africa) leads the Ladies' race, with
Phillipa Le Roux (South Africa) and
Christa Meier (Switzerland) in second and
third positions.
Once through 'The
Elephant Highway', the cyclists will
embark on the final section, 'The Diamond
Coast', 1650 kilometres from Windhoek
through to Cape Town.
The 2006 Tour, which
has doubled in size since last year, is
made up of 60 cyclists representing 14
countries &endash; 24 of which are
Canadian. An eclectic bunch, the
Canadian riders include a professor, a
teacher, a barman, a translator, a PR
practitioner, students, businessmen and
entrepreneurs as well as a chef, a nurse
and a photographer.
Samuel Bail, the
youngest rider on the Tour at 19, and
currently a student in economics and
international development at McGill, was
the top ranked junior road racer in
Ontario last year. He has raced for
Ontario at national and international
world cup events and is using the Tour
d'Afrique as training for next season's
racing.
Sam was introduced to
cycling at an early age by his
grandmother, Ayala Manolson, who, at 74,
has joined him to cycle the last 3000 km's
from Victoria Falls to Cape
Town.
On Saturday 13th May,
having cycled 12 000 km's in 96 days
through 10 African countries, this
extraordinary group will ride their final
day of the Tour into Cape Town.
Thousands of local
South African cyclists and supporters are
expected to welcome the riders at the
official Finish Line at the V&A
Waterfront.
To follow the race and
read the cyclists' diary entries, visit
www.tourdafrique.com
ZAMBEZI ZONE DOWN. ELEPHANT HIGHWAY
AHEAD
Tour d'Afrique, the
annual 12 000-kilometer bicycle
race/expedition from Cairo to Cape Town,
billed as the most gruelling bicycle race
on earth, is in its fourth month and the
riders are about to enjoy two
well-deserved rest days at Livingstone,
Zambia, alongside the Victoria
Falls.
Travelling through 10
African countries in all, the Tour is
growing in numbers as 'sectional riders'
join the intrepid 'full distance' riders
who have already clocked up over 8 500
km's from Cairo.
The 1 244 km section
from Lilongwe in Malawi to Livingstone in
Zambia, known as The Zambezi Zone comes to
an end this Saturday. For the past 9 days
the riders have travelled along the Great
East Road in Zambia and have enjoyed the
natural splendour of the Lower Zambezi
National Park. The roads have been paved
all the way, some of the up hills have
been challenging, but in general, the
riding has been described as 'moderate' by
all.
The riders enjoyed a
day off in Lusaka, which has been best
described by Canadian, Sam Bail, the
Tour's youngest rider:
"I write this from a
mall in the capital of Zambia. I've not
been into the city and have no intention
to do so. I'm as happy as can be spending
the day in a mall. I realize this sounds
crazy but when I walked into this mall I
stared in amazement at everything (movie
theatre, bank, grocery store, café)
in the same manner that I looked on in
amazement at the first African village I
went through. I feel like I'm seeing a
movie theatre for the first time &endash;
everything is amazing. I feel like a small
town African boy going to the big city.
There is a Subway store across from me, a
movie theatre beside me and fully stocked
grocery stores around the corner; I feel
like I'm in North America.
I saw 2 movies
yesterday after my ride and I plan to see
a couple more today. The movie theatre
even has real popcorn and candy!! After
the day is over I'll be ready to get back
to Africa
I think."
Sam is being joined by
his 74 year old grandmother, Ayala
Manolson, in Livingstone to ride the
'Khoisan Challenge' section to Cape
Town.
American rider, Matthew
Caretti is in first position in the men's
race, followed in second position by
George Oertel from South Africa with Urs
Leuthi from Switzerland in third
position.
Joan Louwrens from
South Africa still leads the lady's race,
with Phillipa le Roux also from South
Africa, in second position. Christa Meier
from Switzerland lies in third
position.
The 1 650 km section
ahead of them, known as 'The Elephant
Highway' will start from
02.13.06 &endash;
THE 'MADNESS' IS OVER AS RIDERS TAKE IN
NAIROBI
Matthew Caretti and
Joan Louwrens claimed the Meltdown Madness
section title and both held onto their
overall leads in the Tour. After today's
day off in Nairobi, they are right back at
it, with 6 new participants entering the
mix, as the Snows of Kilimanjaro section
begins &endash; 9 stages covering 982 km
as they skirt Mount Kilimanjaro and
continue through the beautifully lush east
African landscape of Kenya and Tanzania.
Rider's in the past have escaped the worst
of Tanzania's rainy season, what will this
year hold?
03.10.06 - PAST
MOUNT KENYA, RIDERS LOOK TOWARDS THE
EQUATOR
The setting was
terrific; the roads were not so terrific.
As the riders rode past Mount Kenya, on
their way to Nanyuki, they dreamed of the
paved roads ahead. Tomorrow they will
cross the equator and creep closer to the
halfway point of this epic race. Matthew
Caretti, Geroge Oertel, Phillipa le Roux,
and Joan Louwrens still dominate, but Urs
Luethi came away with a stage win on stage
44.
03.08.06
- AMERICAN CARETTI DETERMINED IN THE DIDA
GALGALU
Matthew
Caretti of Shoemakersville, Pennsylvania
had another stage win as riding conditions
continue to test the stamina of the group.
With an average speed of 23 km/h Matthew
dealt with the constant jarring of the
lava rock roads of the Dida Galgalu desert
to add to his list of over 25 stage wins
thus far. Both top females are still
riding well, with Joan Louwrens and
Phillipa le Roux crossing the line at 5
hours, and 25 minutes.
03.03.06
&endash; TWO FIRSTS AS THE TOUR ENTERS ITS
THIRD COUNTRY
James
Lockley, a South African residing in the
UK, and Canadian Monty Orr celebrated
their entry into Kenya by sharing a stage
win; their first of this year's tour. As
both are sitting in the middle of the
pack, the stage wins are surely a nice
reward for a hard day of riding. They did
it on a very hot day that was full of
hills and a steady headwind to complicate
matters. Phillipa le Roux claimed yet
another win; her third in a row.02.22.06
&endash; TWO NEW SECTION
WINNERS
American
Matthew Caretti had a very strong section;
winning the Section Championship and
overtaking George Oertel for the overall
lead in the Tour d'Afrique. Phillipa le
Roux wins in the women's category as she
edges closer to Joan Louwrens who
maintains the overall lead by a couple
hours. It has been Phillipa's lifelong
dream to cross Africa, and she's doing it
at quite a high pace. Official results for
the Gorge to be posted on the website
shortly.
02.20.06
&endash; RIDERS CONQUER THE
GORGE
Matthew
Caretti finishes first in the Blue Nile
Gorge stage amid construction on the Gorge
road. He was followed by Urs Luethi who
has been creeping up in the standings.
Phillipa le Roux won the women's race
covering the 22 km climb in 2 hours 2
minutes. Two more stages until the end of
section two of the Tour d'Afrique which
ends in Addis Ababa
.LOFTY-EATON'S
FIRST STAGE WIN, AND INTO THE HIGHLANDS
THEY RIDE
South African
John Lofty-Eaton gets his first stage win
as the Tour enters Ethiopia. One more
stage before the rider's rest in Gonder as
they now climb into the highlands and edge
closer to the infamous Blue Nile Gorge
stage. Last year's top Canadian racer,
David Houghton had this to say about the
Gorge &endash; "It's known as the toughest
day on the entire Tour d'Afrique. And this
week we found out why. The earth seemed to
drop away and the other side of the gorge
was just a faint, misty ridge. The ride
down is 19 km long, and descends 1300
meters. The ride up is 21 km long, and
ascends nearly 1400 meters. The heat was
in the mid-40s and the road was loose,
bumpy gravel that was infuriatingly
unpredictable. With the distance we
climbed in the morning to get to the
gorge, and the ascent, we climbed 2150
meters. To put that in perspective, we
climbed over 2 km vertically."
VANCOUVER'S
GERALDINE PAQUES WINS TOUR D-AFRIQUE STAGE
16 THROUGH RAGING DUST STORM
.
Canadians won both the men's and women's
categories in stage 16, as Sam Bail of
Toronto continued to ride strong sharing
the men's title for the third straight
day. Geraldine Paques got her first stage
win on a day that was highlighted by the
raging dust storm that racers were forced
to ride through.
Tour d'Afrique, the
annual 12 000-kilometer bicycle
race/expedition from Cairo to Cape Town,
billed as the most gruelling bicycle race
on earth, is in it's second
week.
Cyclists are adjusting
mentally and physically to the many new
aspects that this cycling epic brings; new
sleeping patterns, sleeping on the ground,
different food and water, anti-malaria
drugs, the daily strain of the effort
required to cover the distance each day,
sun stroke, dehydration, desert winds,
dust, fluctuations in temperature from 10
to 37 degrees and
saddle sores a
plenty! But the rewards are
priceless.
Travelling through 10
African countries in all, over 40 intrepid
cyclists have already clocked up 1,400 km
in 13 cycling days through Egypt and the
Sudan and are taking a well earned rest
day along the Nile River on the border of
the Nubian and Sahara Deserts in the
bustling, friendly town of
Dongola.
Continued below
...
PHARAOH'S
DELIGHT IS
COMPLETE
South
African's Claim first section
Championship
SPECIAL
TO Africa Travel
Magazine
The
first section of the Tour
d'Afrique is complete and South
African's came out on top. George
Oertel from Gauteng Province and
Joan Louwrens of Cape Town were
the champions. Official Section
results will be posted on the
Tour d'Afrique website after
final tabulation and verification
tomorrow. Here are the top three
men and women in the Pharaoh's
Delight....
Women
1.
Joan Louwrens, RSA
2.
Phillipa le Roux, RSA
3.
Christa Meier, SUI
Men
1.
George Oertel, RSA
2.
Matthew Caretti, USA
3.
Pieter van Rooyen, RSA
The
race has been highly competitive
and the standings are extremely
close in comparison to previous
years of the tour. There is not
clear overall favourite yet.
"Yesterday we had our first time
trial of TDA 2006. It was an 18
km sprint, 30 second starting
intervals and 36 participants,
our biggest time trial ever. The
fastest of the men was Canada's
Sam Bail, at 20 min, 23 sec and
for the women it was Joan
Louwrens, at 23 min, 47 sec. The
competition was high amongst all
of these incredible athletes, but
I'm amazed by the times of our
winners." said Tour Leader and
Race Coordinator Randy
Pielsticker in conversation with
our office earlier
today.
Joining
the Tour in Khartoum is Holland's
Arnold van Dijk, who participated
in last year's Tour d'Afrique but
was forced to leave after
suffering a broken hip. He is
joining the Tour today determined
to ride the sections he missed
last year. The first of those
being "The Gorge", which will
present all new challenges for
the riders. It starts with five
riding days until they leave
Sudan and enter Ethiopia; three
days of blacktop and two on dirt.
This is usually the hottest
stretch of our tour. In the first
two days in Ethiopia they will
have to cross a section of the
Simian Mountains. This will be
the first real hill climbing
stages of the tour. It will be
interesting to see how the
cyclists react to these new
conditions.
Many
of the riders have been
pleasantly surprised by the
generosity of the Sudanese people
they have met. As leisure rider,
and Montreal CANADA resident,
Ayesha Harji puts it..."The tough
weather and road conditions are
tempered by the warmth and
friendliness of the Sudanese
people everywhere we
go."
The
Tour takes approximately 120 days
to cross the African continent,
of which 96 are cycling days. The
cyclists cover an average
distance of 125 km (75 miles)
each day with a rest day every
5-6 days.
|
CONTINUED: The paved
roads through Egypt in the first week gave
the cyclists the opportunity to settle
into the nomadic lifestyle that will
characterise their lives for the next four
months and get some serious training in
for the challenges of the 'roads' of
Sudan.
Canadian Sam Bail, the
youngest cyclist on the Tour at 19, says
of week two in the Sudan 'You ride the
washboard hating it and then you hit the
sand with relief. After struggling through
the sand for a few kilometres you find
yourself wishing you were riding the
washboard again!'
A gruelling 25
kilometre desert crossing on day 13 ended
in a ferry crossing across the Nile into
the Sahara desert with the highlight of
the day being the ride into Dongola.
'On hitting the paved road 10 km's before
Dongola &endash; I thought I was
hallucinating! ' said Michael Heitz who is
fast finding his 'sand legs'.
In these incredibly hot
and thirsty conditions, Staminade, the
official energy drink of the Tour, is
their lifeline.
The largest, yet least
visited country in Africa, Sudan is home
to over 37 million people made up of more
than 550 ethnic groups. In spite of their
political problems and differences,
hospitality and generosity is key amongst
the Sudanese people. The cyclists are
constantly invited into the simple, yet
beautiful mud and stone homes for chai,
coffee or a meal.
While the leisure
riders soak up the culture in the
villages, take photos and time to meet the
people along the way, the competition
amongst the racers is foreshadowing an
incredible cycling event for this
year.
The South African
riders are at the fore in both the male
and female sections, with George Oertel
and Joan Louwrens in first positions, and
Pieter van Rooyen and Phillipa Le Roux in
second positions.
Race
Results:
12 days - 1,336
kms
Male Riders
George Oertel - South
African - 43:41:12
Pieter Van Rooyen-
South African - 44:40:12
Matthew Caretti -
American - 44:58:13
Race Results:
Female Riders
Joan Louwrens - South
African &endash; 50:36
Phillipa Le Roux -
South African &endash; 58:11
Christa Meier- Swiss-
59:34-
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