Cyclists from Peace Tour roll into southern Israel
(27 Apr 2017) On a hot, dusty road in southern Israel, the band of international cyclists are raring to go.
They are presenting a new course called the Middle East Peace Tour - a cycling event planned for next year.
The course will take participants through Jordan, Israel, the West Bank and Egypt.
Event organiser, former professional cyclist Gerhard Schonbacher, says that he came up with the idea four years ago.
I had been asked to organise race in Israel and after one week I had a good look at the map of Middle East and I was always interested in the Middle East, he explains.
So I was very excited and I said 'well why don't we make a race in the Middle East'. And I made a drawing on the map and I said, 'well Jordan, Egypt, Israel, Palestine will be great to have in the course'. And that's what it is now.
The cyclists will ride from Amman, with three days in Jordan, one in Egypt and three days in Israel and the West Bank where, after seven days, they will finish in Jerusalem.
Schonbacher is confident that the event will be popular with enthusiasts from around the world.
For the first year will be limited to four to five hundred and we will promote the race world wide. And we will bring in at least riders from each continent around the world to the Middle East.
The hope is that with such an international team, the event can be used to promote peace in the region.
Sport is a good voice for peace and we transfer, transport this through the sports people, say Schonbacher.
And if the reaction of those on the presentation course is anything to go by, it seems the event is likely to be a success.
It is a great opportunity to be in a different environment, meet different people and see some different cultures and that's great to be here, says Dutch cyclist Annemiek van Vleuten.
Van Vleuten and the team have been testing the route, travelling each part by both car and bicycle.
This is a pre-event for the big ride that we plan for next year, in 2018. We're doing the entire route, mostly in vehicles and we ride on bicycles in stages, explains Israeli cyclist Ido Eindor.
Today we rode from Tzichor (south Israel) Junction and arrived here in Mitzpe Ramon, about 60 kilometres (37 miles) with a few challenging climbs.
When it kicks off, the seven-day race will take in historical sites such as Petra and Aqaba on the Read Sea, the group said on its website.
You can license this story through AP Archive:
Find out more about AP Archive: