Argus draws Tour de France stars
Brad Morgan
8 March 2007
The Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour, one of only nine events to form part of the UCI Golden Bike Series, is one of the world's most scenic mass participation cycle races. It is also the largest individually timed cycle event in the world, drawing 35 000 riders this year - including two former Tour de France winners.
Recently retired German Olympic gold medallist and 1997 Tour de France champion Jan Ullrich is the latest big gun to enter the race, which takes place on Sunday. He arrived in South Africa on Wednesday.
"I have been coming here for years," Ullrich said, "and really love South Africa, especially Cape Town."
Race4Change
Ullrich is supporting Race4Change, a sponsorship initiative to raise funds for charity.
"I am here to support my chosen charities, Imibala and the Starfish Greathearts Foundation, through Race4Change, and this gives me great pleasure," he said.
Imibala works to assist
underprivileged children get through school, while Starfish Greathearts Foundation is an international development charity that aims to "bring life, hope and opportunity" to South African children orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV/Aids.
Race4Change is a vehicle for making a difference in others' lives which is open to anybody, not just world-famous talents like Ullrich. Participants can raise funds by e-mailing friends, family and colleagues to sponsor them in the race.
Fundraising options
A base fee is paid towards cyclists completing the race. An additional option is a challenge for cyclists to improve on their predicted times.
For Ullrich, riding for charity is a pleasurable experience. "I'm always happy to help children, and I hope to help make these charities a real success in the years ahead. Children are our future, and who knows, maybe a child from here can win the Tour de France some day," he said.
Apart from his Tour
de France victory in 1997, Ullrich - unlucky to run into Lance Armstrong in his prime - finished runner-up five times. He retired from professional cycling on 26 February, caught up in the fallout of a doping scandal in Spain. The allegations against him remain unproven.
Greg LeMond
Before Lance Armstrong made his mark on the Tour de France, another American preceded him as the most dominant cyclist in the race: Greg LeMond. He won the event in 1986, the first American to do so, and followed up with wins in 1989 and 1990. He too will be lining up at the start of the Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour on Sunday.
LeMond will be riding with 200 Virgin Active members whose names were pulled out in a lucky draw. The gym chain will be donating R2 per kilometre per person for every kilometre their group rides. The money raised will go to the Active Education Foundation.
While Armstrong overcame cancer to win the Tour de France, LeMond also had
his own hurdles to overcome. In 1987, following his win in 1986, he was accidentally shot by his brother while turkey hunting. As a result, he missed the next two Tours while he recovered, and also underwent surgeries for appendicitis and tendonitis.
Tour de France 1989
LeMond returned for the 1989 Tour with 37 shotgun pellets still in his body - including some in the lining of his heart - hoping for a top-20 finish. However, he performed far better than he had expected to, entering the final stage, a time trial, 50 seconds behind the leader Laurent Fignon, who had won the Tour in 1983 and 1984.
In possibly the greatest finish ever to the Tour, LeMond rode a brilliant stage, overhauling Fignon to claim the title by eight seconds - the closest ever finish to cycling's most famous race.
Steven Rooks
The organisers of the Cycle Tour were also pleasantly surprised when processing regular entries to come
across the name of Steven Rooks. The Dutch cyclist has an impressive history in the Tour de France.
Rooks finished second in the overall classification in 1988, won the twelfth stage, and claimed the polka dot jersey which is awarded to the King of the Mountains. He also won the now-defunct Présence Classification (or Combination Classification).
In 1989, Rooks won stage 15 of the Tour, a testing 39-kilometre mountainous time trial. He finished seventh overall and again won the Présence Classification.
Big wins
During his career, Rooks achieved a number of big wins, including taking the Liège-Bastogne-Liège classic in 1983, winning the 1986 Tour de Luxembourg, and finishing second to Gianni Bugno in the 1991 World Cycling Championships - at which five-time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain, another man who has ridden the Argus, finished third.
Rooks also won the first edition of the UCI's World Cup in 1988.
It's
important to remember, however, all the other cyclists contesting the 2007 Argus. They are what make it such a special race, not only them, but the spectators cheering them along. It is a wonderful spectacle run along one of the most beautiful routes in the world of cycling.
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