The Tour of Eritrea (, ) is a multistage bicycle race held annually throughout

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

History

The first race was staged in 1946. It was promoted by the Italian community of Eritrea with the Italian name ''Primo Giro dell'Eritrea''. Its inaugural Tour of Eritrea had 34 participants and was won by Nunzio Barrilà of the team A.C. Piemonte. 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. However, a smaller Giro/Tour was held in its place called the ''Giro delle 3 Valli'' ("Tour of the 3 Valleys"). It 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. Merhawi Ghebrehiwot won both the 2007 and 2008 Tours. In 2009 the tour of Eritrea was recognized by the UCI for the first time. It was given a 2.2 HC and included 5 stages. The winner was Meron Russom; Bereket Yemane got the jersey awarded for the best climber. As of 2014, the latest tour was held in 2013 and was won by Mekseb Abrha Debesay. A book of Eritrea’s cycling history 1936-2012 was published by Mewael Mehansho.

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.

Route

The Tour's route has changed since the colonial period. It consists today of a race contended in 5 stages. The race covers various geographic regions, including the desert lowlands, the chilly highlands and windy coast. The race usually starts off at the beaches of

Massawa Massawa or Mitsiwa ( ) is a port city in the Northern Red Sea Region, Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea, located on the Red Sea at the northern end of the Gulf of Zula beside the Dahlak Archipelago. It has been a historically important port for ...

, up the winding mountain highway with its precipitous valleys and cliffs to the capital

Asmara Asmara ( ), or Asmera (), is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region (Eritrea), Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the List of capital cities by altitude, sixth highest capital in the wo ...

. From there, it continued downwards onto the western plains of the

Gash-Barka Region Gash-Barka ( ጋሽ ባርካ, ) is an administrative region of Eritrea. It is situated in the south-west of the country, bordering the Anseba region to the north, and the Maekel (Central) and Debub (Southern) regions to the east; the country ...

, only to return 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 enthusiastically by the Eritrean population around the roads, like happens in the ''

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

'' and the ''

Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...

''.

Jersey

During the Tour, the previous stage's winner is awarded a blue jersey in recognition of their achievement. A red jersey is awarded to those who win the climbing contest while the yellow jersey is worn by the overall Tour leader.

History

2008 results

Route

Jersey

Winners

References

See also