PRESS RELEASE: Tour d’Afrique Bicycle Race & Expedition

Monday 11th May 2010

 

 Cape Town and V&A Waterfront host the arrival of the 2010 Tour d’Afrique Bicycle Race and Expedition

 

(Cape Town) After four months of cycling across Africa, riders of the 2010 Tour d'Afrique Bicycle Race and Expedition will cross the official Finish Line at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town on Saturday, 15th May.

 

“The sense of achievement felt by each and every participant cycling those last few meters of the 12,000-kilometre event is beyond words.” said Henry Gold, Founder of the world’s most gruelling bicycle event.   “It is one of those rare moments in life when everything seems to be crystal clear, when you feel secure about yourself, your life path, your place in the world and when you say to yourself “After this, I can do anything”.”

 

The annual trans-continental bicycle race-expedition which travels from Cairo to Cape Town through ten African countries will be welcomed by the Deputy Mayor of Cape Town, embassy officials, family, friends and fans.

 

While Tour d’Afrique is first and foremost an endurance event for professional and amateur cyclists alike, its mandate is to assist desperately ill people in some of the poorest nations in the world receive better health care while simultaneously proliferating the bicycle as a viable means of transportation.

 

“Over the past 8 years, together with BEN (Bicycling Empowerment Network) and other partners, the Tour d’Afrique Foundation has donated and distributed over 1300 bicycles to HIV/Aids Health Care Workers through Africa,” said Gold, “but preserving the environment and combating global warming by cycling, walking and using public transport as often as possible is the message we’re putting out.”

 

 “Cities all over the world are committing to a rational approach towards sustainable transportation which is essential for the future of the planet and the health of its people.” said Deputy Mayor, Ian Neilson. “The City of Cape Town is working closely with BEN and the Non-Motorized Transport Forum to turn Cape Town into a cycle friendly City and in the process, secure a more sustainable and healthy home for us all in the Western Cape.”

 

68 intrepid cyclists representing 13 countries will cross the Finish Line at Market Square at the Waterfront at around 13:00 on Saturday.

 

In terms of the men’s race, Stuart Briggs (Australia) is currently in the lead, followed by Jethro De Decker (South Africa) and Tim Thomas (America).  Gisela Gartmair (Germany) holds onto first position in the women’s race, followed by Juliana Austin-Olsen (Canada) and Jennifer Crake (Canada) in second and third positions.

 

 End

  

About Tour d’Afrique
Tour d’Afrique Ltd, (http://www.tourdafrique.com/) is named for its 2003 flagship cycling tour that annually traverses the African continent from Cairo to Cape Town (12,000 km in four months).

Directly and indirectly Tour d’Afrique benefits third world countries by organizing and staging transcontinental bicycle tours and races lasting ten days to four months, today traversing four continents and over thirty countries.

Other transcontinental tours are the Silk Route (4,000km/44 days, Istanbul to Samarqand) and the Vuelta Sudamericana (12,000km/134 days, Rio de Janeiro to Quito).

Its new DreamTour (http://www.tourdafrique.com/dreamtours) web 2.0 concept encourages individuals to submit their own trip of a lifetime that will then be open to other riders who may want to join in.

A Tour d'Afrique Foundation (http://www.tourdafrique.com/foundation) promotes giving back to the communities touched by the tours and raises consciousness about the many benefits of bicycles as a means of sustainable transportation.

 

For more information contact:

 

Theresa Brown

Event Organizer

Tour d’Afrique – Cape Town Office

Cell:     +27 84 353 1975

Email:  theresa@tourdafrique.com