When I entered the breakfast room of the Cataract hotel in Caïro early January 2008, I was very curious to who I would meet there and with who I would spend the next 4 months. Who is THE TdA-rider?
Is it a group of biking fanatics who can only talk about chain rings, frames and cranksets? Or it is a group of endurance athletes who have only one focus, the finish? Are we talking about experienced travelers who jump from continent to continent? After having biked 4 month through Africa with this group, I can give you one answer: There is no such thing as THE TdA-rider, everybody has his own story, his own motive and his own approach to the Tour d’Afrique.
Let’s start with the facts: (I’m only talking about the 55 full riders, the ones who ride the whole distance) The youngest rider is 22, the oldest rider turned 68 in april. There is not one age group that is dominantly present. There are 9 riders above the 60 years, I estimate the average age on 45. 17 women take part, and 38 men, there are 7 husband/wife couples and 2 father/son combinations. Canada has 22 participants, the Netherlands comes in second place with 9 riders.
Some participants are retired; some don’t have to worry about work because of other reasons. There is a considerable number of people who have finished their studies or quit their jobs, and will have to find a new job after the Tour. A third group is formed by people like me, who have saved money or days off, or who have used a certain arrangement in their country to create the possibilitie to ride through Africa for 4 months.
Amongst the participants there are many endurance athletes: tri-athletes, marathon-runners (I know of at least two runners with a personal best under the 3.00 hours), mountain climbers, road cycle racers, etc. On the other hand there are quiet some people with little athletic experience, who have only started to cycle because they wanted to do the Tour d’Afrique.
I think that the number of people who take part because of the challenge (“can I ride the whole distance form Cairo to Capetown?") is approximately the same as the number op participants who have a more touristic approach and want to get to know Africa. The first group is focused on things like EFI and will ride also when they are not feeling well. The second group will skip a day of cycling more easily, or will leave the Tour for some days to visit a place of touristic importance. The one approach will not necessarily be in conflict with the other approach, and in this Tour it indeed does not: a very striking aspect of this Tour d’Afrique is that there are hardly any serious conflicts. Although there are many characters and motives to take part, we have traveled as a group to Capetown.