The Tour of Ara is a very tough 700km all-gravel 6-day stage race, ridden exclusively on vintage South African-built steel road bicycles. With the beautiful but harsh Cederberg and Karoo landscapes as a backdrop, racers are pitted against each other, the elements, and themselves. Riding an old skinny-tyred road bike over sharp rocks, relentless corrugations and through thick sand for 6 days is not for everyone, but those who dare are rewarded with breathtaking vistas, swift camaraderie and a sense of unmatched achievement. After lengthy days of being bounced around in the saddle and fighting your handlebars for control, there is also the fantastic food and wine to look forward to - always sourced locally, and prepared by the communities the Tour passes through. This ensures that the Tour of Ara isn’t only about racing headlong to the horizon, but also to experience the history and culture of the small communities travelled through.
Tour of Ara / 661km / 26 Sep - 1 Oct 2015 Mpho Moloi Jamie Litt Gilles Baro David Malan Stan Engelbrecht Nils Hansen Robin Wagner Francois Du Toit Mmeke Mapanya Ray van Breda Clayton Petersen Cameron Barnes Joerg Diekmann Gareth Pearson Las Madurasinghe Lance Williams Justin Fiske Neil Frazer Barry White Sarah Atmore Matthys Boshof Werner Mennen Willem Boshof Greg Murray Sven Uhlig Mishaq Diesel Matt Ferguson Liz Ferguson Bryant Roux Nic Grobler Andrew Wheeldon
26:21:14 27:02:59 28:18:25 29:33:46 30:39:59 30:57:47 31:07:56 32:20:37 32:21:24 32:36:20 32:57:15 34:18:38 34:59:42 35:04:06 35:17:27 36:32:59 36:49:25 37:53:51 43:03:15 46:59:30 47:03:58 47:04:02 47:05:19 49:51:34 DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF
se / df / dn / rj / ng / sn