Shortened Tour alive with fighting spirit

THERE was stress and no small measure of relief on the face of the organisers of the Cape Town Cycle Tour last night as they announced a revised route and reduced distance for the race because of the fires that have devastated the peninsula this week.

David Bellairs, a director of the Cycle Tour Trust, said that the cycle tour would be reduced to a 47km ride, consisting of a loop that will go to the end of the Blue Route on the M3 and head back into town. The 2015 Cycle Tour would be an event that would embrace the original spirit of the first Cycle Tour held all those years ago.

“It’s been an extremely worrying and tense week for Cape Town,” said Bellairs. “For the last four days our beautiful southern peninsula, that the iconic Cape Town Cycle Tour traditionally passes through, has been on fire. It’s been devastating. We have taken a bold decision and will be staging a vastly shortened version of our beloved Cape Town Cycle Tour in solidarity and support for those affected by the tragic fires burning on the mountains around Cape Town. The route will be a 47km circular route from its normal start at the Civic Centre to the end of the M3 and back the same way to a slightly altered finish in Green Point.”

This will mean that the route will not take in the scenic Chapman’s Peak, which has found to be unstable after the fires that destroyed a hotel at the Hout Bay side of the pass. The fire is mostly contained, but there remains the probability that it could flare up again.

“With Chapman’s Peak ruled out, our detour option of Ou Kaapse Weg returning to Cape Town via the M3 was considered. A number of key issues needed to be taken into account including access and egress to the South Peninsula by Emergency Services vehicles and local residents who are still under threat of fires raging in the area. The soot and ash covering both sides of the road on Ou Kaapse Weg present a considerable health risk to participants and this would be exacerbated by the likelihood of wind.

“The idea of an out and back route via Main Road to Cape Point and back is impractical for an event of this size as road widths in certain areas between Fishhoek and Muizenberg narrow down to a width of four metres.

“The unfortunate set of circumstances we face this week is unprecedented in 38 years of the Cape Town Cycle Tour. On Sunday cyclists won’t see pristine scenery as they make their way down the shortened route. They should see the smouldering landscape as a source of inspiration and pride because it represents the heroism of the men and women who have – very literally – put their bodies in the line of fire.

“The ride remains a celebration of Cape Town and this wonderful Peninsula on the southern tip of Africa. The Cape Town Cycle Tour will go on because, as the fighting spirit of the people of Cape Town has demonstrated, nothing can take it away from us – not even fire.”