Tour de Timor
Tour de Timor
Cory Wallace / 12.09.2014
The Tour de Timor is an international mountain bike race, held in 5 stages in Timor Leste. The first edition was held in August 2009, with 300 competitors from 12 countries, and was an initiative of HE the President of the Republic, Dr. José Ramos-Horta, as part of his peace-building and nation-building campaigns.
Famed for its smooth seaside rides, grueling climbs, spectacular mountain views and unprecedented crowd support, riders will be treated to a rare and special insight into Timor’s unique geography, environment, people and culture.
Roads across Timor-Leste vary from smooth modern bitumen roads, gravel mixes to dirt and mountain bike tracks. Roads from the capital and along the coast are general wide and flat, rising to meandering mountain roads as the course winds its way around the country’s mountainous spine.
Mountain bikes are a must for this race!
Hundreds of thousands of Timorese lined the streets all along the course (even the more remote areas) to observe and cheer the riders along. During the event I will no doubt meet many fascinated spectators, many of whom will have never seen a bike race before!
This is a country which has gone through a very rough history declaring its independence from Portugal in 1975 only to be invaded by Indonesian forces. For years the country was in the midst of battles, referendums, destruction of their country’s infrastructure, and massacres. In 1999 the country was in a crisis as they pushed for an independence referendum from Indonesia’s invasions. Activists in Portugal, Australia, the United States, and elsewhere pressured their governments to take action.
Eventually East Timor became formally independent on 20 May 2002 and a member of the UN on 27 September 2002.
Now is a time of peace, hope and dreams in this small country and a few of us foreigners were lucky enough to be invited to take part in this countries biggest international sporting event and to help promote Timor Leste as a new adventure tourism destination and a place of hard earned peace.
In such a young independent country the tour is the proof of peace, security and love of sport!
SleepMonsters
