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TdA Race & EFI Update – One Section To Go!





As of Windhoek Namibia which marks the beginning of the Diamond Coast, the Tour’s 8th 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 3rd , with young Canadian gun Adam “Powerhouse” Lister in 4th, and Alaric Britz, now riding across his home land of Namibia in 5th. 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
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Cinelli BOOTLEG Bicycle Test Rider Report




I had waited to ride in Africa for so long and finally the time had come. The flight landed in Lilongwe and I was ready to run the Zambezi Zone section with the Tour d’Afrique Bicycle Expedition.



In order to test one of the BOOTLEG Cinelli bikes that had been prepared for the rigors of the world’s toughest race/expedition I faced a 1250 km ride across Malawi and Zambia, ending at the legendary Victoria Falls.

As most of the route was on paved roads crossing a seemingly endless string of rolling hills, I was able to test the qualities of speed and smoothness of the BOOTLEG Cinelli - especially the level of comfort over long distances - up to 180 km per day.



The  Zambezi Zone section turned out to be one of the most suitable sections for the characteristics of the BOOTLEG Cinelli bike. The frame is super stiff which I enjoy. When you stand during a climb there is no rear end flex when under power. The stiffness, however, entails a lower comfort level, especially on Zambian asphalt that is very wrinkled. The wheels of the BOOTLEG Cinelli and the carbon fork did absorb most of the annoying vibrations, so my back and shoulders arrived at the end of any stage in good condition. My Cinelli bike has been a great travel friend, very reliable and easy to maintain a good speed without particular problems. 



Riding on the hills of Zambia was an incredible adventure and experiencing it  along with the other Tour d’Afrique riders was a real pleasure. The Tour d'Afrique is truly unique! There is so much harmony between the riders and the spirit that emerges is that of "Grande Ciclismo".



I've collected a lot of feedback directly from other riders who rode the Cinelli along the rest of the route in very different conditions from those areas of the Zambezi Zone: off-road, sand, mud, etc… While there are many things to improve in the next year’s model all those who have tried the bikes have really appreciated its racing character.

Now I'm back in Italy and sharing with the Cinelli team new ideas that will make the BOOTLEG Cinelli bike even more powerful and suitable for the Tour d’Afrique Bicycle Race & Expedition.



Africa, it seems, has taught me a lot and given me some positive energy!

Thank you Tour d’Afrique!

In bike we trust! 


  -- Dario Toso  

Posted April 24, 2012 by Guest Author
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It’s a tough life being a racer




Usually I like to take it easy when I ride – I have no problems with riding sweep.  But today I feel like a change, so I take an iButton from race director Ben and jump on my bike.  Before I leave camp I pause at the time pilot (our timing system for the racers and riders that want their journey to be timed) and press my iButton into the machine until I hear it beeping, put it safely into my jersey pocket and start pedalling as fast as I can along the dirt road out of camp back to the pavement.

There’s a sharp corner coming off the dirt road with gravel just before the pavement.  I take it a little too fast and end up going SPLAT on the pavement!  Ouch!!! 

“Oh sorry!” says the Zambian bypasser.

She makes sure I am ok and even offers me some special Zambian cream for my wounds.

But I have a race to win.  “I’m okay!” I smile at the friendly face, jump back on my bike and get the legs spinning again. 

Before long I pass rider Robert who is busy fixing a flat.  He already has Ciaran helping him out and has everything he needs.  I give them the thumbs up and keep pedaling. 

Next I catch rider Ming.  Ming is busy taking photos.  I give him a big smile and a thumbs-up too and I’m sure he has a lovely shot of me zooming down the hill in front of him.



Next I catch riders Jen and Carla.  I think they are riding super slow to let me win!  I don’t want them to go slow just because I’m racing though because if I’m the only one racing then it’s not a real race.

Jen, Esther, Jana, Femke, Marita  and Natalie are sitting enjoying a cold coke when I pass.

A little later I pass Lisa, Bev, and Nola.  By this time I am getting tired.  There’s a big hill and before long they have all caught me again. 

“Only 10km to lunch,” Nola tells me as she passes.  Phew I think I can do that!  I let them pass and decide all these guys are much fitter than I am and I need to play dirty if I want to win!  I don’t think I can make 104km without eating so I can’t do like some of the boys do on a mando day and skip lunch.  So I pull into the truck wash my hands, grab some food, wolf it down in a couple of mouthfuls, fill up my water and get back on my bike.  Most of the female riders are still sitting at the truck when I leave.  Gizele only left 10-15 minutes ago.  She had a head start from me already from camp so if I ride fast and even if she gets to camp before me I could still win!

At 80km I am feeling a little over racing and feel like taking photos.  I don’t let myself though.  I am getting tired again but I have to keep moving – I have a race to win!

At 90km I am feeling completely stuffed.  My back is hurting, my shoulders hurt, my knee and my elbow and my hand are all hurting from my fall. 

I stop at the next possible coke stop and have an icy cold coke.  And a freshly made Zambian doughnut.  I have had enough racing and just want the ride to be over. 

After my coke I am feeling much better so I get back on the bike and continue my ride.  I’m still tired though and it’s not long before Jen, Femke , Natalie and Gennesse catch me.  They offer me a wheel and I take it for a little while.  It’s a smart way to race but I’m in Africa and I don’t really like staring at a wheel in front of mine when there’s so much other exciting stuff to look at! 

I let them pass.  I have no energy to keep their pace.  I remember how much I hate racing!

Eventually I roll into camp.  I don’t have energy to sprint to the finish line flag.  I stop by the time pilot, clock out, chill for a little while before jumping in and having a shower.

I don’t know how the racers can do it – riding as fast as they can every single day. Now I can barely move.

I didn’t get the stage and I don’t really care but from now I am happy  to just ride sweep where I can chill out right at the back, stop a lot, take photos and enjoy being in Africa!

-    Claire Pegler

Posted April 11, 2012 by Guest Author
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Tour d’Afrique Race Update



Kenyan Mike, Chris & Raffa setting the pace in Tanzania

The 2012 TdA has reached Lilongwe Malawi which marks the end of the 5th of the tour’s 8 sections. With two days off, the riders are trying to keep their tents and clothes dry as they encounter their first real rain, in between visits to the Mabuya camp bar and pool, and forays into Malawi’s capital in search of reliable internet, hardwood handicrafts, and fine dining. Meanwhile the staff are seeing that stocks are replenished and enjoying a rare chance to sleep in.

With 6569 km of racing completed out of 7207 total km since the tour departed Cairo, Switzerland’s all rounder Christian Sailer is still the man to beat. After grace days are factored in, his lead over Germany’s Raffael Schrof is just under 3 hours. American Bryce Walsh has maintained his grip on 3rd , with young Canadian Adam Lister in 4th.  South African Miguel Teixeira and Canuck Andrew Younghusband rode their hearts out and grabbed their first stage wins in recent days.


Andrew Younghusband won the April Fool's Day Stage

Among the ladies Dutch dynamo Femke Nelissen is maintaining a substantial advantage over her friendly fellow competitors. Australian Esther Borg, Brit Jen Davenport and Irish lass Marita Reilly continue to focus more on inhaling Africa and maintaining their EFI status than winning the race.


Canuck Gizele price, Malawi Gin Section Winner

All told 25 full tour-ists are still classified as racers and being timed. Here are the standings after 62 of the Tour’s 94 stages, including cumulative and adjusted times:

TDA 2012 Race Standings Place Total Time Total Time Minus Grace Days Place (Adjusted)
Men          
Christian Sailer 1 231:54:29 205:46:29 1
Raffael Schrof 2 241:47:47 208:42:47 2
Bryce Walsh 3 246:24:12 219:55:12 3
Adam Lister 4 259:22:18 229:24:18 4
Alaric Britz 5 279:12:54 245:43:54 5
Alan Emerton 6 304:05:33 270:42:33 7
Norbert Christ 7 307:31:21 247:31:21 6
Jurgen Meijer 8 322:01:47 278:08:47 8
Jonathan Cowan 9 343:34:51 288:33:51 9
Steve Smith 10 347:12:31 292:10:31 10
Miguel Teixeira 11 348:03:29 304:40:29 11
Robert Rowley 12 378:54:17 336:29:17 12
Andrew Younghusband 13 447:24:51 387:24:51 13
Women          
Femke Nelissen 1 359:16:34 313:44:34 1
Esther Borg 2 401:37:51 352:39:51 3
Jennifer Davenport 3 402:30:48 351:06:48 2
Marita Reilly 4 416:15:18 367:09:18 4
Gizele Price 5 444:24:49 384:24:49 5
Carla White 6 462:50:53 402:50:53 6
Gennesse Beadman 7 489:20:17 429:20:17 7
Beverley Coburn 8 522:23:22 462:23:22 8
Marianne Phillips 9 572:40:10 512:40:10 9
Nola Reynolds 10 620:19:04 560:19:04 10
Shona Bell 11 633:42:00 573:42:00 11
Holly Beetham 12 673:16:00 613:16:00 12


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


Alaric Britz checks out at the TimePilot Station

Now the Tour turns west, on the Zambezi Zone section towards and then across Zambia. Distances will be long and conditions will be hot and humid as the race and the tour spins towards Lusaka and the wonder that is Victoria Falls. We wish all the riders happy cycling and good luck as their goal of reaching Cape Town draws a little closer every day.


Jen Davenport is lovin' Africa!

Posted April 03, 2012 by Brian Hoeniger
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Tour d’Afrique Race and EFI Update




The 2012 TdA has reached Arusha Tanzania which marks the midway point of our annual trans-African odyssey on two wheels. With three days off, the staff are seeing that the support vehicles are serviced and the food bins replenished. Many of the riders are on safari to Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater parks while others are kicking back at Masai camp and gearing their energy back up for the 2nd half of their journey of a lifetime. This is the perfect time to recognize some of their accomplishments so far. After 5119 km of racing out of 5521 total km since the tour departed Cairo, Switzerland’s all rounder Christian Sailer has become the man to beat. Stuttgart’s Raffael Schrof, who led until southern Ethiopia, is now in 2nd, with Chicagoan Bryce Walsh in 3rd. They are well clear of Canada’s Adam Lister in 4th and it will take remarkable luck and effort for any of the other men to knock them off the podium before Cape Town.


                  Race Leader Christian Sailer

Among the ladies Dutch dynamo Femke Nelissen has opened up a substantial advantage over her nearest competitors. Australian Esther Borg, Brit Jen Davenport and Irish lass Marita Reilly appear to be more focused on inhaling Africa and maintaining their EFI status than winning the race.

 
                   Women's leader Femke Nelissen

All told 26 full tour-ists are still classified as racers and being timed. Here are the standings after 48 of the Tour’s 94 stages, including cumulative times, and adjusted times  with the 5 allowed grace days deducted. 



For the latest stage times and overall standings, you can always visit our race results page.

The EFI Club: 14 intrepid souls remain

Meanwhile, 14 intrepid souls remain in the 2012 EFI Club which is the designation we dedicate to those riders hardy and fortunate enough to manage to cycle every fucking inch we throw at them.  Through the off roads of Sudan, the long climbs of Ethiopia and the brutal lava rock road of Northern Kenya these 10 men and 4 women have rolled into camp every day so far, determined to join this exclusive club:





             EFIer Miguel Teixeira climbs the Blue Nile Gorge
Tomorrow the Tour starts heading southwards again, on the Masai Steppe section across Tanzania. We wish all the riders happy cycling and good luck as their goal of reaching Cape Town draws a little closer every day.   




Posted March 19, 2012 by Brian Hoeniger
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Cinelli Test Ride




Tour mechanic, Douglas Percival set a new staff record for the Blue Nile Gorge time trial when he completed the epic 20km climb in 1:24:30, finishing third overall.

He reports back on taking on one of the toughest sections of the tour on one the custom-made Cinelli TdA bikes.

Riding the large Cinelli Cyclocross bike on an uphill time trial was a good experience.

I removed the knobbly tyres for the race and replaced them with some Schwalbe slicks. I am 6ft2 so found I have to ride the seat post almost above the maximum mark. The 120mm stem allows for a comfortable reach to the bars. A larger width bar like a 31.8mm could possibly be comfier on the hands and perhaps a wider bar too.

The frame is super stiff which I enjoy. When you stand during a climb or in a spring there is no rear end flex when under power. Many times I’ve ridden aluminium frames and had trouble with flex so this was a nice surprise. The frame has a steep head tube angle which was great for the climb. Descending and when standing and sprinting whilst holding in the drops is twitchy at times (perhaps a wider bar would also improve that).

For general cruising on the flats and rolling hills the wheels were great, they roll well and are a good weight – they are not carbon light but strong and do not flex either.

Sadly there is only one water bottle cage mount - two would be good especially when wanting to tour with this bike. All the components are midrange which as a bike mechanic I feel is a good choice. They’re slightly heavier than top end equipment but reliable and easy to service and that’s what you need when on the road away from the luxuries of a bike shop and the perfect workshop.

All-round it’s a great ride capable of doing different terrains and proving to be very reliable.


   -- Douglas Percival

Posted February 24, 2012 by Tour d'Afrique Ltd.
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Winners of Pharaoh’s Delight




They’ve completed almost 2000kms in two weeks’ time. They faced frosty temperatures in Egypt and soaring 40+ days in Sudan. They’ve endured days on end without showers and managed to get through two weeks in Africa without any serious ailments and as they reached the end of the first section of TDA2012, Rafael Schroff and Femke Nelissen have been crowned as clear-cut winners of Pharaoh’s Delight. Both were delighted with their victory and are sure to keep working hard and attempt to be overall winners when they arrive in Cape Town.

Said Femke: “This one’s for my dad!”

Posted February 08, 2012 by Tour d'Afrique Ltd.
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End of Egypt Race Report




The 2012 Tour d’Afrique caravan has now completed Egypt and yesterday morn the riders staff and all their luggage and equipment set sail across Lake Nasser bound for Sudan.  



The Top Dogs: Adam, Jurgen, Rüdiger, Raffael, Bryce, and 2 Egyptian Cycling Team members  

In the men’s race Germany’s long-limbed and sprinting specialist Raffael Schrof holds a 5 minute lead after 8 stages and 936 km over fellow countryman and tactician Rüdiger Müller, with American all-rounder Bryce Walsh in 3rd. Canadian Adam Lister won the 110 km Stage 8 from Idfu to the outskirts of Aswan by 23 minutes in an impressive 3:02 when he broke away from the pack after a set of speed bumps and then opted to skip the lunch stop, putting the hammer down all the way to the finish line.  


                                 Femke Nelissen

The ladies race is less intense and full of camaraderie and mutual support with several riders winning stages in Egypt. Currently Netherlands Femke Nelissen leads by 33 minutes but with more than 10,000 km to go no clear cut favorite will emerge for some time among the largest ever female racing contingent on the TdA.  

Stay tuned for more race updates and stage results, the latest of which you can always find posted here.


              Loading the bikes on the good ship Sagalnaam

Posted January 24, 2012 by Brian Hoeniger
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Cinelli Road Performance Test Ride




TdA Staffer Brian Hoeniger had the pleasure of test riding one of the Cinelli sponsored bikes today on the 108 km stage into Luxor, Egypt. Riding in a small peloton with Dutchman Herman de Grave and 2 other riders they covered the 61 km race distance from camp to lunch in 1:52, including slowdowns for about 12 police check points, numerous speed bumps, and the town of Qena.

After refueling at the lunch stop Herman and Brian completed the 108 km into Luxor in 3:22 riding time, with an average speed, excepting the many brief slow downs, of over 35 km/hr



Herman, who has contributed over Euros 2000 to the TdA Foundation, is a strong rider – he pulled for 15 km leaving camp when it was only 3ºC - who carries 2 large rear panniers, and usually tours by himself with 4 panniers averaging 150-200 km per day.

The lightweight Cinelli bikes are fast and handle really well on the tarmac. Another of the Tour staffers, Dr. Annelot, is currently riding one of the Cinellis after her bike was damaged leaving Cairo.



One small improvement would be to have the holes drilled in the frame for a second water bottle holder as our riders drink lots of fluid every day, and many prefer bottles to camelbacks. It won’t be until after Khartoum in the Sudan that the bike's performance on a rough off road section can be tested but they are off to a great start and Tour d’Afrique Ltd is very grateful for this generous sponsorship.    

Posted January 20, 2012 by Brian Hoeniger
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The World's Longest, Toughest Race




With the 2012 Tour now underway this year’s race is shaping up to be one of the biggest ever. 25 full tour riders have registered to race, including 14 men and 11 women. Some will be serious contenders for the overall crowns, others have the dream of winning a stage on this the world’s longest cycling race, while the rest are being timed just for the fun of it. All told they are scheduled to race 9400 km of our 11700 km route through 10 countries, including 69 full days from camp to camp, 9 half days, 4 individual time trials and 12 non-race days. We will be posting the updated results 2-3 times a week as we receive them from Africa and you can follow them here.



Stage 1 Race Description: The Tour always starts with 2 convoys, first to the opening ceremonies at the pyramids and then to get through and out of the Cairo traffic. This day also serves as a warm up day for all the riders. Consequently there is no race and on non-race days all racers who complete the day are given a time of 5 hours.



Stage 2 Race Description: The 2012 TdA race kicked off with a 166 km stage from near Al Sukhna to a desert camp along the Red Sea. As the longest day in Egypt it’s also the first of 15 mando stages whereby the top 3 men and women earn time bonuses of 30 20 and 10 minutes respectively. Seizing the day by outsprinting 2 local Egyptian riders was Germany’s Raffael Schrof with an actual time of 5:01. His countryman Rüdiger Müller and American Bryce Walsh rounded out the top 3 Full Tour male racers, while Netherland’s Femke Nelissen recovered from a fall on Day 1 to finish as the top lady.


Posted January 17, 2012 by Brian Hoeniger
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