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| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | September |
| Region | East Timor |
| English name | Tour de Timor |
| Discipline | Mountain |
| Type | Stage race |
| Web site | www |
| History | |
| First edition | August 2009 |
| Editions | 10 (as of 2018) |
| First winner |
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| Most recent |
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The Tour de Timor is an international mountain bike race held in East Timor. It is a stage race with five stages, with US$75,000 in total prizes. [1]
Contents
The race is open for male and female cyclists.
The first Tour de Timor international mountain bike race was held in August 2009
This race is an initiative of HE the President of the Republic, Dr. José Ramos-Horta, as part of his “Dili – City of Peace” campaign.
The inaugural race was a watershed event for the country, with 300 competitors from 12 countries, over 100 registered media and the largest level of Timorese participation in any event of the young country’s history.
288 riders participated in the 5-day, 450 km race that commenced on 24 August and ended in Dili on 28 August 2009. Hundreds of thousands of Timorese lined the streets of the 450-km course through 9 of the country’s 13 districts, greeting riders each day with smiles, chants and warm hospitality.
The event included a squad of 25 Timorese riders, chosen from a national selection race in July 2009, who represented their country for the first time. The Timor-Leste National squad was provided with one month of support with professional coaching, rations and quarters at the F-FDTL 1 BIL Base Baucau, per-diem wages and full professional cycling equipment to the value of approx US$2500 each.
Thousands of Timorese were engaged in participation of this event, through organising of the event and in supporting the athletes as they passed through their communities. The “Festival of Peace” was a further element of the Tour de Timor, which engaged thousands of children and youth in social activities such as art, music and drama at each of the end stages of the Tour in the districts.
The Tour de Timor was covered by an extensive group of national and international press and journalists. The Tour generated substantial regional and International interest and coverage of Timor-Leste in the lead up to the 10th anniversary of the Popular Consultation. This coverage is still continuing with further releases of blogs, photo exhibitions and film pieces that have been produced following the event, by participants and other journalists who followed the Tour.
The event was won by an Australian, Mr. Neil Van der Ploeg. He walked away with the overall winners cheque for US$15,000 out of a total prize pool of US$75,000. Two Timorese riders, Ozorio Marquas and Jacinto de Jesus da Costa finished in the top 25.
The Government of Timor-Leste, in conjunction with the Office of the President of the Republic, was the main sponsor of the Tour de Timor. Her Royal Highness Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein of Jordan was the largest private sponsor and Digicel was the major commercial sponsor. Substantial in-kind support was also sourced from AirNorth, UNMIT, the Australian Army (ISF), AustAsia Airlines, Timor Telecom and many other private enterprises, which contributed to making the event a success.
The inaugural Tour de Timor was a highly successful event, being executed safely, professionally and with a great level of state, commercial and public coordination and support. The feedback from the participants of the 2009 is incredibly positive, as was the extensive coverage in the media. The 2010 Tour de Timor is scheduled for 13 – 17 September 2010 and will draw from the lessons learned during 2009 to enhance the objectives of the event.
