Last month we were...Cycling the Cape Argus

by Jonathan Andrews, 1 April 2006

The Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour is the biggest timed sporting event in the world. Every year it attracts thousands of participants and spectators alike. Whether as cyclists slogging it out along the route or taking it easy lining the roadside enjoying breakfast and the views, Capetonians don't like to be left out. It's more than just a race, it's an event the whole city gets involved in.

Go2Africa at the Tour

This year, Go2Africa sent a team of 20 to cycle the Tour. The build-up to the race was exciting. We ordered branded kit, planned the celebrations and made bets about who would do the best time - and who would take the longest!

There's a certain camaraderie that comes with knowing you're part of a team, but also wanting to prove that you're better than your co-workers. There's nothing wrong with a bit of healthy competition, after all.

Some of us were only able to "talk the talk", and would be watching from the sidelines. The 20 who actually planned to "walk the walk" (or ride as the case may be) prepared for the day with a mixture of spinning classes, protein supplements and spaghetti.

The Big Day Dawns

Members of the Team and their families all got up early on Sunday, 12 March, and headed out to their respective points along the 109km route. At 5am, while it was still dark, our supporters were already setting up their gazebos and folding chairs on the steep slope of Suikerbossie. They would be there to support our cyclists in their greatest hour of need by dispensing bottles of Powerade and shouts of encouragement.

At around 8am, our riders cycled into the city, where the streets were already congested with cyclists. So great is the number of cyclists participating, that by the time our team started, the winners of the race had already crossed the finish line.

So How Did we Do?

Luke Hardiman, our front-end designer, managed to put everyone to shame. He came in with a very respectable time of 3 hours and 11 minutes, comfortably winning in his group and also beating everybody in the 2 groups ahead of him.

This can probably be explained by the fact that Luke cycled from Fish Hoek into town and back (a distance of some 50km) 3 days a week for the past 3 months. Some called it an unfair advantage. Luke called it training.

Our CEO, Mark Preyer, showed his mettle by completing the race in under 4 hours, coming third overall in the Go2Africa Team, just behind Marc van Zyl. Our youngest team member, 13-year-old Dylan Riviere, beat our web team leader, Erick de la Fuente, who proudly finished with the second worst time of the day: just over 6 hours. Erick's already got his name down for next year's Argus. He'll be training with Luke.

A Cycle Event for Everyone

This year 31 500 cyclists of all ages, shapes and sizes took part in the 29th annual Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour. It's the largest timed cycling event in the world, and can supposedly be seen from space.

The route, 109km of coastal roads and energy-draining hills, snakes through the dramatic landscape of the Cape Peninsula. If the infamous last ascent, Suikerbossie, doesn't take the cyclists' breath away, the views certainly do.

The race attracts all kinds of entrants from both near and far. It doesn't matter how old you are, how young you are - or even how fit you are. All you need is a bicycle, a helmet and the will to keep pedalling.

Some cyclists dress up, others just keep their heads down and ride as hard and fast as they can. For many of them it's a fun day out, a challenging way to see the peninsula. To others it's an all-out race against the clock to beat their personal best.

Race Day 2006

As race day dawned cyclists and spectators gathered in the early morning misty drizzle at the Civic Centre in Cape Town. Conditions were a little damp and chilly at the start this year, but the riders appreciated the coolness that soothes burning muscles and hot faces.

As the groups start, still tightly packed, they weave their way out of the city centre and onto Eastern Boulevard passing in front of Cape Town's iconic Table Mountain. A gentle climb up to Hospital Bend spreads competitors a little more thinly before they start racing downhill at speeds of up to 75km per hour.

Past the university, with views across the Southern Suburbs and on to the Blue Route, the cyclists whirr their way past spectators and well-wishers, waving if they have the energy. There's still plenty of road ahead as competitors forge on to Muizenberg and the coastal road through picturesque seaside suburbs.

Then, it's on to the first major hurdle and up to the halfway point, Smitswinkel Bay. From there a descent into Scarborough. Even with achy legs and a saddle-sore backside, riders cannot but appreciate the soothing beauty of the Cape as they behold the sea and a gentle mist rolling in towards the Misty Cliffs.

Beside the turquoise Atlantic, big and bold on the horizon, the cyclists meander towards Noordhoek and to the top of the famed Chapman's Peak.

The riders freewheel down into Hout Bay, the last respite before Suikerbossie, the final and most arduous ascent. Suikerbossie often has motorists changing to a lower gear. Cyclists inch upward, heading for the top, grunting and swearing to themselves. Finally it's downhill to Llandudno and the home stretch.

This year's race was won by German Steffen Radochla in 2 hours and 34 minutes. Anriette Shoeman won the women's race in 2 hours 59 minutes.

Humble Beginnings

The tour started in 1977 when two Capetonians, Bill Mylrea and John Stegmann, organised the 'Big Ride-In'. The event attracted a few hundred cyclists including the then mayor of Cape Town, John Tyers. The group met on the Grand Parade and rode down Adderley Street to the Foreshore as a publicity stunt.

Out of this, the idea for a long-distance ride was born. On 28 October 1978 at 7.30am, the tour began. 525 entrants started out from the Castle on Strand Street and embarked on the 104km route, ending in Camps Bay.

The first event was not without its teething problems. Most notably, the organisers had seemingly hoped that the South African Defence Force would help start the race by detonating one of the old cannons from the Castle wall. Apparently, they were only prepared to let off a 'thunder-flash'.

An iron pipe was found to replicate a cannon and flour would be used as smoke. At the first count down, there was not a sound from the Castle. On the second attempt, however, with a starter standing by with his pistol, an enormous bang - complete with smoke and flames - resonated from the Castle. The blast blew the pipe to bits! Fortunately, nobody was injured. But what a spectacular start to the race.

3 hours, 2 minutes and 25 seconds later, Lawrence Whittaker, chairperson of the Pedal Power Association (PPA) from 1988 to 1999, wrote himself into the record books as the first winner. The first ladies winner was Janice Theis in 4 hours 35 minutes. Just under 450 cyclists finished the race on that day.

Milestones

From those humble beginnings the tour grew year on year. By 1980, with 1 398 riders, the Tour was being advertised as "the biggest cycle race in the Southern Hemisphere". The event was starting to attract some of the sport's top competitors.

I can remember standing on the roadside as a child in Kalk Bay in the late 1980s holding out sachets of water and paper cups of Coke to weary cyclists as they passed in the early morning mist.

The Rotary Club of Claremont had become involved in the cycle tour in 1982 as part of an agreement with the PPA to assist with the organisation of the Tour, and to enable Rotary to use the Tour as a means to raise funds for community projects. As the event grew, other Rotary clubs became involved. The partnership continued until the Cape Town Cycle Tour Trust was formed in 2000.

Strength to Strength

In 1988 M-Net, a pay-television channel, joined The Argus as a co-sponsor for the next 3 years and the event was televised for the first time. By 1989, the Tour had outgrown Camps Bay's main road and the finish line was moved a kilometre further down the road to Maidens Cove.

Pick 'n Pay came on-board as naming-rights sponsors in 1991, and the Giro del Capo began as a 4-stage professional race in 1992. By 1994, the letters of the alphabet had been exceeded by the number of start groups and other symbols were introduced.

The new millennium brought a change to the route. For the first time, due to rockfalls and hazardous conditions, Chapman's Peak was closed. The new route, known as the 'de-tour', saw cyclists coming back along the Blue Route and through the city centre to Green Point for the next 4 years.

The country's biggest one-day sporting event is an international draw card. In 2003, the Tour was marketed overseas for the first time, even though it had already begun to draw a considerable foreign interest.

Giro del Capo

Professionals ride the Tour as the fifth and final leg of the Giro del Capo, a gruelling competition hotly contested by South Africa's best, as well as foreign teams. In 2006, the 15th Giro del Capo, was won by Peter Velits, a 20-year-old Slovakian.

Article © Copyright 2006 Go2Africa.

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