Tour of Eritrea
 Cyclists competing in the Tour of Eritrea in Asmara, Eritrea. |
|
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | April 11 to April 24 (2008) |
| Region | Eritrea |
| English name | Tour of Eritrea |
| Local name(s) | ዙር ኤርትራ (Tigrinya) |
| Discipline | Road race |
| Type | Multi-stage |
| Organiser | Eritrean National Cycling Federation |
| Race director | Aklilu Lijam |
| History | |
| First edition | 1946 |
| Editions | 10 |
| First winner | Nunzio Barilà |
| Most wins |
|
| Most recent |  Meron Russom (ERI)[1] |
The Tour of Eritrea (also, Italian: Giro d'Eritrea Tigrinya: ዙር ኤርትራ) is a multiday bicycle race held throughout Eritrea.
Contents |
[edit] History
The first race was held in 1946 and was promoted by the Italian community of Eritrea with the Italian name Primo Giro dell'Eritrea.[2]
This first Tour of Eritrea had 34 participants and was won by Nunzio Barilà of the team A.C. Piemonte.[3] It had five stages, with a very difficult Premio della Montagna (Stage of the Mountain).
In 1947 the second Giro dell'Eritrea was not allowed because of political reasons related to a growing guerrilla war in british occupied Eritrea, but instead was done a "small" Giro/Tour, reduced and called "Giro delle 3 Valli" (Tour of the 3 Valleys) that was won by Esmiles Zoli.
In 2001 after a fifty year long hiatus, the Tour was resurrected as celebration of the tenth anniversary of the Eritrean independence. It was won by Habte Weldesimon, who repeated his victory in 2003 and 2004.
The last 2 Tours of Eritrea, in 2007 and 2008, were won by Merhawi Ghebrehiwot.[4]
[edit] 2008 results
PODIUM of the 2008 edition:
- Merhawi Ghebrehiwot (team EriTel) with 47.00 points
- Dawit Haile (team Asbeco) with 40.00 points
- Frekalsi Debesay with 37.00 points
The last stage (in Asmara, done April 20) was won by Domenico Vaccaro, an Italian Eritrean, of the team Medeber.[5]
[edit] Route
Though since the Colonial period the route has changed, today it is a 700 mile race contended in 10 stages.[6] The race covers various geographic regions, including the desert lowlands, the chilly highlands and windy coast.[7]
The Tour of Eritrea of 2008 is a bicycle race from the hot desert beaches of Massawa, up the winding mountain highway with its precipitous valleys and cliffs to the capital Asmara. From there, it continues downwards onto the western plains of the Gash-Barka Zone, only to return back to Asmara from the south.
This is, by far, the most popular sport in modern Eritrea, followed by many thousands of fans and with nearly 100 professional Eritrean cyclists. Indeed, the Tour of Eritrea is followed entusiastically by the Eritrean population around the roads, like happens in the Tour de France of France and the Giro d'Italia of Italy.
[edit] Jersey
During the Tour, the previous stage's winner is awarded a blue jersey in recognition of their achievement.[8] A red jersey is awarded to those who win the climbing contest while the yellow jersey is worn by the overall Tour leader.[9]
[edit] Tour winners
| Rider | Team | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 |  |
Nunzio Barilà (ITA) | |
| 2001 | |
Habte Weldesimon (ERI) | |
| 2002 | |
Michael Tekle (ERI) | |
| 2003 | |
Habte Weldesimon (ERI) | |
| 2004 | |
Habte Weldesimon (ERI) | |
| 2005 | |
Michael Teku (ERI) | |
| 2006 | |
Michael Misgane (ERI) | |
| 2007 | |
Merhawi Ghebrehiwot Bayre (ERI) | |
| 2008 | |
Merhawi Ghebrehiwot Bayre (ERI) | |
| 2009 | |
Bereket Yemana Abebe (ERI) | |
| 2010 | |
Natnael Berhane (ERI) | |
| 2011 | |
Meron Russom (ERI) |
[edit] References
- ^ ""Tour Eritrea 2011" Peculiar Final Stage Race". 2011-06-29. http://www.shabait.com/about-eritrea/art-a-sport/6491-tour-of-eritrea-2011-peculiar-final-stage-race-.
- ^ http://www.maitacli.it/arg_menu/Sport/Ciclismo/giro_di_vita.htm The first Tour of Eritrea/Giro d'Eritrea of 1946 (in Italian)
- ^ http://www.maitacli.it/arg_menu/Sport/Ciclismo/nunzio.htm
- ^ http://www.cyclingwebsite.net/voorloopfiche.php?wedstrijdvoorloopid=7584 Information about the 2008 Tour of Eritrea
- ^ http://alenalki.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4792&Itemid=2
- ^ Rice, Xan (2006-07-30). "Riders on the sandstorm". London: The Observer. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,,1830595,00.html. Retrieved 2006-12-19.
- ^ "Corso, a Life Line of Asmarino Youths". Archived from the original on 2006-09-29. http://web.archive.org/web/20060929121140/http://www.shaebia.org/artman/publish/article_4416.html. Retrieved 2006-12-19.
- ^ Andemichael, Daniel (2007-02-14). "Abraham Belay Dons Blue Jersey as He Sets a New Record in Winning Latest Stage". http://www.shabait.com/upload/newspapers/Feb-07/eritrea_profile_14022007.pdf. Retrieved 2007-02-14.[dead link]
- ^ "Summary of Tour De Eritrea: EriTel wins Fifth Consecutive Victory". http://www.shaebia.org/artman/publish/article_4856.html. Retrieved 2007-03-12.[dead link]
[edit] See also
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