Cape Town Cycle Tour facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Cape Town Cycle Tour

Cape Town Cycle Tour logo.svg
Race details
Date	Second Sunday in March
Region	Cape Town, South Africa
Discipline	Road race
Type	One-day
Organiser	Cape Town Cycle Tour Trust
History
First edition	1978; 47 years ago (1978)
Editions	45 (as of 2023)
First winner	Lawrence Whittaker (RSA)
Most wins	Willie Engelbrecht (RSA) (5 wins)
Most recent	Tyler Lange (RSA)

Sun Valley, Cape Town Cycle Tour 2024

The Cape Town Cycle Tour is a super popular bike race held every year in Cape Town, South Africa. It used to be called the Cape Argus Cycle Tour. The race is usually about 109 kilometers long.

This race is very special because it was the first event outside Europe to be part of the Union Cycliste Internationale's Golden Bike Series. South Africa is home to some of the biggest sports events in the world. The Cape Town Cycle Tour is the largest bike race where each person's time is recorded. Over 35,000 cyclists take part!

Other huge South African events include the Comrades Marathon, which is the world's biggest ultra-marathon running race. There's also the Midmar Mile, the world's largest open water swim.

The Cycle Tour is usually held on the second Sunday of March. Many famous people have ridden in it, like Miguel Indurain, Jan Ulrich, Matt Damon, and Lance Armstrong.

The Race Route

The Cape Town Cycle Tour follows a beautiful circular route. It starts at the Grand Parade in Cape Town. Cyclists ride about 109 kilometers.

The route goes down the Cape Peninsula and then back again. It passes through many scenic areas. Riders go along the False Bay coast to Simon's Town. Then they cross the peninsula towards the west.

They pass the entrance to the Cape of Good Hope section of the Table Mountain National Park. After that, they head north along the Atlantic coast. The route takes them through places like Scarborough, Kommetjie, and Noordhoek.

One of the most famous parts is Chapman's Peak. After that, they go through Hout Bay and over Suikerbossie Hill. The race finishes near the Cape Town Stadium in Green Point.

Amazing Records

Cyclists have set some incredible records on the 110 km course over Chapman's Peak.

• The fastest time for men is 02:27:29. This record was set by Robbie Hunter in 2008.
• The fastest time for women is 02:44:04. Renee Scott set this record in 1991.

Penny Krohn holds a special record. She won her age group 25 times in a row! That's a lot of wins!

The fastest time ever recorded was in 1993. Wimpie van der Merwe finished the 105 km course in 02:16:40. He rode a special bike called a fully faired recumbent. He averaged an amazing 46.1 km/h!

The oldest person to finish the race within the seven-hour limit is Japie Malan. He was 92 years old in 2012 when he finished on a tandem bike in 05:49:00. He also finished on a single bike when he was 90 years old in 2010. The oldest woman to complete the race is Mary Warner. She was 80 years old in 2006 and finished in 06:43:38.

History of the Race

Chapman's Peak, a famous part of the Cape Town Cycle Tour route.

The Cape Town Cycle Tour started in 1978. Bill Mylrea and John Stegmann organized an event called the "Big Ride-In." They wanted to show that Cape Town needed more bike paths. Hundreds of cyclists joined, even the Mayor of Cape Town. Lawrence Whittaker won the first race in September 1978.

The race was first planned to be 140 km long. It was supposed to include a part that went to Cape Point. But they couldn't get permission to enter the Cape Point Nature Reserve. So, the route was shortened to 104 km. A local newspaper, the Cape Argus, agreed to sponsor the event and let it use their name.

Today, the Cycle Tour is part of a week-long festival of cycling events. These events include:

• Tricycle Tour: For young children under 6 years old.
• Junior Cycle Tour: For kids aged 6 to 12.
• MTB Challenge: A mountain bike race.
• Giro del Capo: A multi-day professional race. The last day of this race is the Cycle Tour itself.

Route Changes and Cancellations

Sometimes, the race route has to change. Between 2000 and 2003, the race used a different route. This was because Chapman's Peak Drive was closed.

The race has also been stopped or shortened a few times because of bad weather or fires:

• In 2002, the race was stopped because it was extremely hot. Temperatures reached 42 degrees Celsius!
• In 2009, strong winds of up to 100 km/h blew cyclists off their bikes. The race was stopped at Chapman's Peak.
• In 2015, a big fire caused the route to be much shorter, only 47 km.
• The 2017 race was completely cancelled on the day it was supposed to happen. This was due to very strong winds (over 100 km/h) and fires on parts of the route.

Race Results Over the Years

Here's a look at some of the past Cape Town Cycle Tour events:

Year	Distance (km)	Entrants	Finishers	Men's Winner	Men's Time	Women's Winner	Women's Time	Notes
1978	104	525	446	Lawrence Whittaker	03:02:25	Janice Theis	04:35:00	Started at the Castle, finished in Camps Bay.
1979		999	760	Hans Degenaar	02:52:38	Janice Theis	03:36:46
1980		1398	1119	Hennie Wentzel	03:02:18	Monika Gasson	03:59:00
1981		1669	1372	Ertjies Bezuidenhout	02:47:42	Ann Wood	03:40:01	Start moved to Hertzog Boulevard.
1982		1698	1372	Mark Pinder	03:01:25	Martina le Roux	03:34:54	Very windy day.
1983		2302	1929	Robbie McIntosh	02:49:55	Heather Smithers	03:21:20	Very windy.
1984		2373	2023	Theuns Mulder	02:55:07	Isavel Roche-Kelly	03:19:14
1985		3008	2445	Hennie Wentzel		Louise van Riet Lowe	03:04:36
1986		3494	3086	Ertjies Bezuidenhout	02:40:20	Cathy Carstens	02:49:55
1987		5934	4761	Hennie Wentzel	02:43:05	Cathy Carstens	03:03:24	Heavy rain, high winds, and cold weather.
1988		10850	8707	Willie Engelbrecht	02:36:54	Cathy Carstens	02:54:23	Windless day.
1989	105	12802	10559	Willie Engelbrecht	02:49:24	Cathy Carstens	02:57:55	Finish line moved to Maiden's Cove. Windy race.
1990		14427	11235	Willie Engelbrecht	02:41:56	Cathy Carstens	02:53:50	Safety helmets became compulsory.
1991		15593	12750	Robbie McIntosh	02:28:46	Rene Scott	02:44:40	Perfect weather.
1992		17274	13334	Willie Engelbrecht	02:50:04	Jackie Martin	03:03:10
1993		18659	15256	Wayne Burgess	02:33:35	Kim Carter	02:51:46	Wimpie van der Merwe set a record on a special bike.
1994		20964	17289	Willie Engelbrecht	02:23:22	Jackie Martin	02:49:19	Windless.
1995		25313	20535	Michael Andersson	02:22:56	Jackie Martin	02:45:52	Near-perfect weather.
1996		28711	22294	Thomas Liese	02:40:16	Erica Green	02:58:33
1997		28875	22717	Kurt Asle Arvesen	02:38:47	Erica Green	02:58:37	Very good weather.
1998		34162	25955	Malcolm Lange	02:39:25	Anke Erlank	02:58:27
1999		36153	28885	Jacques Fullard	02:31:26	Michelle Lombardi	02:52:55	Electronic timing started.
2000	109	39864	30081	Morne Bester	02:39:35	Anriette Schoeman	02:57:34	Route changed due to Chapman's Peak closure.
2001		39715	30785	Douglas Ryder	02:31:57	Anriette Schoeman	02:55:21
2002		39831	28050	Allan Davis	02:35:34	Anriette Schoeman	02:57:29	Race stopped due to extreme heat (42°C).
2003		39668	27841	Malcolm Lange	02:29:29	Anriette Schoeman	02:54:02	Perfect weather.
2004		42614	31219	Antonio Salomone	02:32:23	Anke Erlank	02:49:23	Route back via Chapman's Peak. Sweltering day.
2005		39929	28334	Russell Downing	02:37:50	Anke Erlank	03:00:19	Winds over 40 km/h.
2006		40064	28818	Steffen Radochla	02:34:28	Anriette Schoeman	02:59:08	Cool weather and light rain.
2007		41279	29296	Robert Hunter	02:32:36	Anke Erlank	02:48:29	Near perfect weather.
2008		37978	28669	Robert Hunter	02:27:29	Cherise Taylor	02:50:51
2009	110	38594	25799	Arran Brown	02:46:32	Jennie Stenerhag [sv]	03:06:01	Strongest winds ever (up to 120 km/h). Race stopped.
2010		37662	28745	Malcolm Lange	02:39:55	Anriette Schoeman	03:06:11	Windy, but not as bad as 2009.
2011		36848	28970	Tyler Day	02:32:10	Cherise Taylor	02:49:45	Perfect conditions.
2012			31126	Reinardt Janse van Rensburg	02:36:17	Ashleigh Moolman	02:52:24	Hot day. A pile-up affected the women's race.
2013	109	?	31700	Herman Fouche [de]	02:39:53	Anriette Schoeman	02:52:54	Route via Chapman's Peak.
2014		34500	31046	Nolan Hoffman	02:39:01	Cherise Stander	02:51:00	Windy, with gusts up to 83 km/h.
2015	47	~ 34000	32129	Nolan Hoffman	01:01:49*	Lynette Burger	01:17:52*	Route shortened due to fires.
2016	109		28751	Clint Hendricks	2:35:31	An-Li Kachelhoffer	02:51:26
2017		35000	Cancelled						Cancelled due to very high winds (over 100 km/h) and fires.
2018	109/78 (M/F)	35000	26384	Nolan Hoffman	02:37:30	Kimberley Le Court De Billot	02:11:50	Start line moved to the Grand Parade. Women raced a shorter route.
2019			23136	Sam Gaze	2:39:42	Cherise Willeit	02:16:11
2020			22500	Travis Barrett	2:30:04	Cherise Willeit	02:07:48
2021			18000	Nolan Hoffman	02:37:12	Kimberley Le Court De Billot	02:13:17	Race was postponed to October 17, 2021.
2022			16000	Marc Pritzen	2:37:54	Kimberley Le Court De Billot	02:08:44
2023				Chris Jooste	2:36:14	Kimberley Le Court De Billot	2:13:20
2024	109/72 (M/F)			Kent Main	2:31:22	Tiffany Keep	2:12:02
2025	109/78 (M/F)	28000		Tyler Lange	2:25:48	Pia Grünewald [de]	2:05:18

See also

• 94.7 Cycle Challenge