FYI. / Ron / NWHC

Dear Friends

It is with great pleasure that I invite you to the first official
Handcycle Division of The Cape Argus Pick & Pay Cycle Tour.
www.cycletour.co.za

The Cape Argus Pick & Pay Cycle Tour will be held on the 13th of
March 2005.
This event is the largest timed sporting event in the world
attracting more than 35 000 cyclists form all over the globe. The
race is raced over a distance of 108km.

Recently I've negotiated the first official Handcycle division as
part of this incredible event. The organizer have "reserved" 50
places for the Handcycle division and these will be allocated on
a "first come, first serve" basis. The race will have prize money
for the top 3 places in the men's and women's race. The exact amount
still has to be finalized by the sponsors. There will also be a
trophy to the winner of both divisions. At this stage we are not yet
in the position to race it over the new different classes as we
first need to see how much interest we will attract form abroad.

It has been decided that the Handcycle Division will be the 3rd
group to start in conjunction with the Tandem bikes. This was really
kind of the organizer, as most cyclists need a really fast
qualifying time to be lucky enough to start in the first 1000!

In the week leading up to the event the South African Championships
for Cycling will take place in Paarl where my hometown is. This town
is approximately 40 minutes away from the start of The Cape Argus
Pick & Pay Cycle Tour. The training routes for cycling in this area
is very good and most of the roads offer a broad shoulder.

I would like to suggest that those who are interested in coming to
South Africa for their winter training come to Paarl in the weekend
before the race and make it a racing and training camp. You will get
to do 3 races (Timetrail, roadrace and The Cape Argus Pick & Pay
Cycle Tour) and have an opportunity to do some quality training. At
this stage we are negotiating with various hotels in the area to get
a discounted rate for a group booking. Once we have exact numbers we
will be able to give an accurate rate.

Those who are really interested can e-mail me to reserve a
preliminary spot as the numbers are limited to 50.

I know the flights are expensive as this is our peak season but I
urge you to support this event. This is the way for Handcycling to
develop and become a recognized part of the professional cycling
world. If we can make this work it will only pave the road for
better opportunities in the future.

Please forward this e-mail to all those who might be intrested in
doing it.

Kind Regards
Ernst van Dyk