Visually impaired triathlete and pilot win blind tandem category
Mayberry Park’s visually impaired triathlete Gavin Kilpatrick and his tandem pilot recently won the blind tandem category at the 2023 Cape Town Cycle Tour.
Visually impaired triathlete Gavin Kilpatrick and his partner Roberto Gnudi recently won the blind tandem category at the 2023 Cape Town Cycle Tour where they came in the first place.
The 45th Cape Town Cycle Tour is the biggest timed bike race which provides a pleasing day for tens of thousands of cyclists who compete in different categories.
“My tandem pilot Roberto Gnudi from Panda Sportswear cycled from Johannesburg to Cape Town with a group of cyclists in a tour called Meals on Wheels, where they donated food parcels to residents of the small towns they travelled through,” explained Kilpatrick.
Kilpatrick joined the tour for one stage from De Aar to Beaufort West before going forward to Cameron to manage the panda and uvex stand at the cycle tour expo.
He said the race day conditions were near perfect and they set off early in the morning.
“The place was hot from the gun and we managed to form a small select group of about 10 tandems. It was not to be our day for the overall category win due to the efforts of the long tour and many hours on our legs at the expo, so the remaining 60 km was a battle of the mind to keep pushing forward through the cramping and tired muscles,” Kilpatrick said.
After a well-deserved win, he thanked everyone who generously supported them towards the race.
“We thank Tyla van der Spuy, a biokineticist for looking after our aches and pains and will continue with treatments on our return after competing at the SA triathlon championships in Gqeberha where we hope to qualify for African Triathlon Championships later this year,” he said.
