Tour d'Afrique Ltd.

2012 Tour d'Afrique Final Report

The tenth Tour d’Afrique, the longest timed stage race in the world, came to a conclusion on Saturday when 37 full tour riders crossed the finish line on a picture perfect day in Cape Town. The race started on 14 January when 43 cyclists set off from the Pyramids of Giza in Cairo.

Though the majority of the participants entered as expedition riders, simply there for the experience and to see Africa, 27 registered as racers and competed for a stage win at some point in the race. Six women and 11 men notched up at least one stage win during the race with the eight sections being split between three men and three women.

Top Men Racers: Raffael Schrof, Christian Sailer, Bryce Walsh

In one of the closest finishes yet in the tour’s ten year existence the two top men were only separated by two hours. These cyclists pushed each other to the limit on every race day and records were broken in every important time trial and significant day, including the climb up the Blue Nile Gorge and the longest day on tour (207km). Though German Raffael Schrof won six of the eight sections up for grabs, Christian Sailer from Switzerland built up a substantial lead in the one section he claimed when Schrof suffered mechanical and health issues. This proved to be too big a gap to make up in the end and Schrof could only come within two hours of Sailer’s finish time.

Top Women Racers: Jen Davenport, Femke Nelissen, Esther Borg

In the women’s race things were more relaxed and Femke Nelissen from the Netherlands dominated the race from beginning to end to take the overall victory.

Participants were overwhelmed by the welcome they received at the finish line and tears of joy were aplenty as they were reunited with loved ones after four months on the road. After the official medal ceremony everyone had a couple of hours to get rid of as much dirt as possible before heading to the final TdA celebration of this year.

Champagne was flowing and tunes pumping and the dancing continued until the early hours of the morning as Cape Town lived up to its reputation as one of the best party spots in South Africa. Despite feeling a little worse for wear on Sunday everyone agreed that it was a fitting end to what has been an absolutely incredible and unforgettable trip.

Overall winners

Men

1.    Christian Sailer (Switzerland)        348:05:59
2.    Raffael Schrof (Germany)            350:13:47
3.    Bryce Walsh (USA)                      365:52:32

Women

1.    Femke Nelissen (Netherlands)        514:54:34
2.    Jenny Davenport (United Kingdom) 572:59:48
3.    Esther Borg (Australia)           588:56:51

Sectional winners

Pharaoh’s Delight: Raffael Schrof and Femke Nelissen
The Gorge: Raffael Schrof and Claar Schouwenaar
Meltdown Madness: Christian Sailer and Femke Nelissen
Masai Steppe: Raffael Schrof and Gizele Price
Malawi Gin: Raffael Schrof and Gizele Price
Zambezi Zone: Raffael Schrof and Gizele Price
Elephant Highway: Adam Lister and Femke Nelissen
Diamond Coast: Raffael Schrof and Femke Nelissen

EFI Riders 2012

Carlos Aleman (Spain)
Esther Borg (Australia)
Alaric Britz (Namibia)
Jenny Davenport (United Kingdom)
Herman de Grave (Netherlands)
Jana Dumas (Canada)
Alan Emerton (South Africa)
Adam Lister (Canada)
Jurgen Meijer (Netherlands)
Marita Reilly (Ireland)
Christian Sailer (Switzerland)
Miguel Teixeira (South Africa)
Bryce Walsh (United States of America)

-- Catharina Robbertze

Posted May 14, 2012 by Guest Author
Tour Updates

That is a wrap

The sight of Table Mountain in the distance hasn’t been as sweet for such a big group of people in a long time.

After four months of ranting about the beauty of Africa I know I’ll be repeating myself when I try to tell you how beautiful this sight was so I’ll keep it short: Combine Cape Town, champagne weather, euphoria and a few glasses of bubbly and that should give you an idea of how we experienced our arrival in the Mother City of South Africa.

What made it so much more special though was the presence of loved ones and after four months on the road quite a few tears were shed when old faces were seen for the first time. There were hugs, kisses, smiles and shouts of joy. But deep inside there was also a little bit of sadness as we all realised this was the end of our time together. Our family of almost 60 people has been broken up and though some of us may see each other again back home or keep in contact via e-mail we will not get to fight over who gets breakfast first, who ate the most at lunch or who should do the dishes tonight. No more giggling in the morning with whoever is sitting next to you or pitching the tent of a friend with diarrhea.

We have had good times and bad times. Laughed together, cried together and gossiped together and now it is time to face the real world again.

Will we survive? Of course! Africa eats the weak, and we all survived this. Watch out world, we’re heading back out there, leaner and meaner than before and ready for whatever you may want to throw at us.

-- Catharina Robbertze

Posted May 13, 2012 by Guest Author
Tour Updates

TDA Twilight

Today, while having our second last dinner, after the last day of racing, in our final week of this glorious TdA circus we were treated to a spectacular African sunset once again.

As often happens when the sun disappears behind the horizon and a fair bit of staring takes place, one starts to think. About everything. And these thoughts usually become deeper the longer the sunset lasts. Personally they usually range from: “Why does the air look pink when the sun sets?” to “What did I have for dinner last night?” to “What is the meaning of life?” (These questions are usually in direct relation to the amount of red wine being consumed as well.)

Today was no different and as the sun is also setting on a trip of a lifetime for most of us the thoughts running through our minds were mostly related to the memories collected during the past four months…

Setting off from the shade of the Pyramids in freezing temperatures.

The craziest, dirtiest and most memorable ferry crossing ever.

Scorching days in Sudan and being invited into strangers’ homes for tea.

Travelling back in time to Ethiopia.

Ethiopian coffee and juice.

Tanzanian hospitality, friendliness and parties.

The sight of the glorious Victoria Falls.

The silence falling over camp when an elephant strolled into camp.

The beauty of desolation of Namibia.

Friendships made.

I can go on but I don’t want to bore you. But it all boils down to one thing. Something which I have often wondered during the past four months and which, after some deliberation with my colleagues, I realised they also wonder about:

“What did I do to deserve this?”

-- Catharina Robbertze

Posted May 10, 2012 by Guest Author
Tour Updates

The Real Africa

As we head further south and things appear to be more and more western some riders are relieved while others are disappointed. Camp sites have become more sophisticated and showers are becoming the rule rather than the exception. This also, is a welcome change to some while others are of the opinion that we are no longer in the “real Africa”.

This question has become a topic of conversation on many an occasion on this trip. The question: “Is this the real Africa?” has been asked many times and most riders are sure to have the question posed to them when they head back home… “Did you get to experience the real Africa?” or “What is it like?” But this question is so much more difficult to answer than you might think.

Why? When most people think of Africa they conjure up images of starving children, mud huts with no electricity, wildlife roaming the streets, Massai warriors in tribal dress and wide open spaces. While these are correct and do appear in some parts of Africa (and we got to see most of them) there is no reason why this should be the only image the rest of the world has of this continent. Truth is, Africa is a place of such variety and potential none of these images can grasp an entire continent in one image or a fleeting moment.

This is a place of success and failure, poverty and riches, corruption and honesty. It’s a place where a businessman in suit and tie has to be able to converse with a tribal spokesperson without batting an eyelid and vice versa. People live in high rise buildings, mud huts and Bedouin tents. When driving in your car you have to share the road with donkeys, camels, horse-drawn carts and bicycles.

So when riders comment that they do not feel they’re in the “real Africa” any more I strongly disagree. The “real Africa” is not one place or image. It is not one nation and not one language. It is this continent in its entirety, with all the good and bad, from north to south. All of the cultures contribute to this strange place millions of people call home. From the Arabic north to the western south with everything in between, there is no reason why one country should represent a whole continent and when something doesn’t fit in with your idea of what Africa is, doesn’t mean it isn’t the real Africa.

The unique Ethiopian culture, Kenyan tribes, Serengeti plains, Sudanese deserts, southern savannas, Arabian nights, elephants next to the highway and little villages with pool tables. All of these are a part of the continent and contribute to this wonderful place together with millions of other images we saw and did not see.

If there is such a thing as the real Africa, this – all of it – is it and it has been a privilege to get to experience it firsthand.

-- Catharina Robbertze

Posted May 09, 2012 by Guest Author
Tour Updates

The TDA Family

Take a group of say 40 people together from all over the world. Different occupations, different backgrounds, different ages, some who have done a lot of cycling before, some barely any, some who have been all over the world, some who have never left their home country before, some who have never camped before others who go camping all the time.

Put them all together, get them to ride and average of 125km/day every day through extreme heat, up steep long hills which sometimes seem like they will never summit, freezing cold mornings, strong head winds, through sand, through dust, over the bumpiest most corrugated roads imaginable. The fact that the reason why each individual is undertaking this intense challenge is different doesn’t matter. The fact that some will ride slow, some will race, some will stop at every coke opportunity they get and others will ride flat out camp to camp is also mostly irrelevant.

At the end of the day we’re all in this together. Everyone looks out for each other – everyone is willing to lend a hand when a hand is needed. In just four months massive changes occur – true friendships are forged and at the end of the day the group is more like a giant family than anything else.

Sadly our journey is coming to an end. In six days’ time our family of friends will break up and go our separate ways and will never be together again. The memories however, will last forever.

- Claire Pegler

Posted May 08, 2012 by Guest Author
Tour Updates

Cape Town Finish Line Information

Tour d’Afrique Finish Line/ Accommodation/Dinner Saturday May 12^th 2012

Finish Line

The Cape Town Hotel School Restaurant

Between 13:30 and 14:00 The official TDA 2012 Finish Line will take place at The Cape Town Hotel School Restaurant next to the Waterfront in Cape Town. This will be followed by an official welcome, a medal ceremony, and an announcement of the race winners.

Family and friends of riders who would like to attend should contact Theresa Brown so they may be put on the guest list:

See the location here.

E-Mail: Theresa@tourdafrique.com
T: +27 83 526 5145

Accommodation

The Breakwater Lodge Portswood Road, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town

The TDA cyclists will be staying at the Breakwater Lodge, Waterfront, just a few minutes away from the Finish Line.

Celebration Dinner

The Cape Town Hotel School Restaurant

Cape Town Hotel School Restaurant Beach Road • Mouille Point

Tel: 021 440 5736

Scheduled for 19:00

The final celebration dinner will take place at the Cape Town Hotel School Restaurant situated near the Waterfront – one minute away from the Breakwater Lodge.

Have a look at the link http://active.cput.ac.za/CTHS/public/index.asp?pageid=801

There will be a full cash bar available. Family and friends who would like to attend will need to pay R165-00 each on arrival. Due to limited space, booking is essential.

Please contact Theresa Brown:

E-Mail: Theresa@tourdafrique.com
T: +27 83 526 5145

Posted May 07, 2012 by Tour d'Afrique Ltd.
Tour Updates

Last day in Namibia

After being on the road for almost four months and getting to see some of the most beautiful sights on earth you start to think you’ve seen it all. It can’t possibly get any better than this can it?

Then you get to Namibia and things take a turn for the incredible. The scenery gets more and more breathtaking and as we enter a new and different scene it seems to get more surreal. Red dunes against blue skies are followed by endless silver grass fields before herds of zebra and springbuck crossing the road have you stopping dead in your tracks.

It has been a truly spectacular country and today, on our last day of riding here, we have been treated to incredible Mars-like scenery before crossing the final mountain with the Orange River spread before us and on the other side… South Africa.

After travelling non-stop for a third of the year with nothing but the promise of Table Mountain at the end, the sight of the final country of our trip came as a bit of a surprise. As a South African I thought it was only me who had this feeling of relief mixed with sadness and happiness when I saw the green grass of home on the other side of the river, but it seems the feeling is mutual. At least that’s what the smiles on all the riders faces told me when I told them, that’s it, that’s where we’re heading. It is time.

-- Catharina Robbertze

Posted May 07, 2012 by Guest Author
Tour Updates

Magical Namibia

As this year’s tour starts heading toward a conclusion in Cape Town we’re trying to make peace with the fact that we’re not going to see majestic sights every day. Africa, and Namibia in particular, is making it extremely hard though and since leaving Windhoek we have been treated to some of the most beautiful sights we’ve seen yet.

Only 11km after leaving the country’s capital the paved roads disappeared and we were back on some pretty daunting unpaved roads. Sharp rocks, corrugation and deep sand will be what the riders will have to deal with for the next two weeks and everyone was reminded that this show isn’t over yet. There is still another 2000km left before we get to cruise into Cape Town and the riding isn’t going to get any easier until we have Table Mountain in our sights.

However, the scenery we have been treated to has made the pain and suffering worth every minute. Travelling through Namibia has been simply magical. Coming down Spreetshoogte Pass most of us were speechless as the view spread open before us. From the top of that pass you can see almost two weeks into the future. The landscape is flat as can be, with little ‘Koppies’ sprouting all over the place. The grass looks silver and the dunes red and when you stop to listen the silence is deafening.

What makes this country truly special is the desolation that surrounds you and makes everything you see more intense. It’s like a drug that heightens your senses and makes the experience truly spectacular. I struggle to think of enough adjectives to describe how we have enjoyed these past few days and to describe the beauty we’ve seen but suffice to say it has been special.

With all the beautiful sights we’ve seen so far it was difficult to believe that we’ll see something even better but it seems the best was indeed left for last.

-- Catharina Robbertze

Posted May 04, 2012 by Guest Author
Tour Updates

TdA Race & EFI Update – One Section To Go!

As of Windhoek Namibia which marks the beginning of the Diamond Coast, the Tour’s 8^th and final Section and the “top of the home stretch” 14 intrepid souls were still “EFI” having ridden Every F*cking Inch since they jumped on their bikes at the Pyramids some 15 weeks and almost 10,000 km ago. Through the heat of Sudan, the long climbs of Ethiopia, the brutal lava rock road of Northern Kenya, the Tanzanian mud, and the long flat Botswana days these 10 men and 4 women have rolled into camp every day, determined to join this exclusive club. And now their goal is almost in sight …

2012 EFIers as of Windhoek
Carlos	Baez	Spain
Esther	Borg	Australia
Alaric	Britz	Namibia
Jennifer	Davenport	UK
Herman	de Grave	Netherlands
Jana	Dumas	Canada
Alan	Emerton	South Africa
Adam	Lister	Canada
Jurgen	Meijer	Netherlands
Marita	Reilly	Ireland
Christian	Sailer	Switzerland
Steve	Smith	South Africa
Miguel	Teixeira	South Africa
Bryce	Walsh	USA

With 9085 km of racing completed out of 9961 total km since Cairo, Swiss all rounder Christian “Clockwork” Sailer is still in the driver’s seat. After the 5 allowed grace days are factored in, his lead over Germany’s Raffael “Giraffe” Schrof is just under 2.5 hours. American Bryce “Ultraman” Walsh is maintaining his grip on 3^rd , with young Canadian gun Adam “Powerhouse” Lister in 4^th, and Alaric Britz, now riding across his home land of Namibia in 5^th. All the top men worked together on the 207 km “big kahuna” from Botswana’s wild west town of Ghanxi to the Namibian border with the aim of breaking Jos “the Animal” Kaal’s 2008 record time of 5:46. Despite fighting headwinds for the last 80 km they succeeded when Raffa crossed the finish line in 5:41, just ahead of Bryce, with Jon Cowan, Christian and Adam also coming in under 6 hours.

Tour Mechanic Doug Percival pulling the Longest Day Peleton

Among the ladies Dutch dynamo Femke “Fembot” Nelissen holds a huge advantage over her friendly fellow competitors, Brit Jennifer “Mother Hen” Davenport, Aussie Esther “Easter Egg” Borg, and Irish lass Marita Reilly who are more focused on inhaling Africa and maintaining their EFI status than on racing hard, although Femke and Jen also went for it on “the Longest Day” coming in just a few minutes behind Gizzy Gartmair’s women’s record of 6:23.

Leading Lady Femke Nelissen

With the number of opportunities dwindling, several other racers realized it’s “now or never” and rode like mad men and women to grab their elusive first stage winner plates in Botswana and western Namibia. Now with 14 stages and 1732 km to go – over half of which is off road, it’s evident that Femke will add her name to the list of TdA Race Champions. Christian on the other hand cannot afford to stop putting pedal to the metal or a major mechanical problem.

The Longest Day Race Team: Jurgen, Douglas, Peter, Christian, Bryce, Jonathan, Adam, and Raffael

Here are the overall standings after 80 of the Tour’s 94 stages, including cumulative and adjusted times:

For the latest stage times and overall standings, please visit our race results page here.

Posted May 01, 2012 by Brian Hoeniger
Tour Updates

The Naked Kilometre

After more than three months on the road it is inevitable that people will go just a little crazy and when riding for hours without seeing another living soul it has become tradition for riders to let it all hang out in the Namib Desert.

This week it was time for that tradition and this year’s riders did not disappoint.

Several records have been broken on this year’s tour: The time trial up the Blue Nile Gorge was shattered by Pal Fritsvold and the longest day record now belongs to Raffael Schrof but one of the hardest ones to break is the Naked Mile one which Lisa Kingsley-Correia can now call her own. She managed to ride the full stage of 84km in her birthday suit while almost all the other riders did more than 10km stark naked and one group even stopped for a Coke at a roadside lodge… where they managed to get a free shot from the owner!

Needless to say the clinic has been overrun by sunburn complaints but everyone agrees the experience was empowering and a whole lot of fun.

--- Catharina Robbertze

Posted April 30, 2012 by Guest Author
Tour Updates

Tour Updates

Blog | Tour Updates RSS

2012 Tour d'Afrique Final Report

That is a wrap

TDA Twilight

The Real Africa

The TDA Family

Cape Town Finish Line Information

Last day in Namibia

Magical Namibia

TdA Race & EFI Update – One Section To Go!

The Naked Kilometre

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