Visually impaired triathlete Gavin Kilpatrick and his partner Roberto Gnudi recently won the blind tandem category at the 2023 Cape Town Cycle Tour.
The tour is the biggest timed bike race in the world and a pleasant day for tens of thousands of cyclists who compete in various categories.
“My tandem pilot from Panda Sportswear cycled from Johannesburg to Cape Town with a group of cyclists in a tour called Meals on Wheels. They donated food parcels to residents of the small towns they travelled through,” explained Kilpatrick.
Kilpatrick joined the tour for a stage from De Aar to Beaufort West before going to Cameron to manage the Panda and Uvex stand at the cycle tour expo. He said the race day conditions were near perfect when 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.
“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 supported them.
“We thank Tyla van der Spuy, a biokineticist, for looking after our aches and pains, and we will continue with treatments on our return after competing at the SA Triathlon Championships in Gqeberha, where we hope to qualify for the African Triathlon Championships later this year,” he said.
