Tour of Cyprus: A Party on Wheels
By Christine Vardaros
I am just back from the Tour of Cyprus with a glowing suntan and a colorful collection of stories. Tour of Cyprus is a unique 3-day stage race where guys and gals compete together through the mountains for ultimate glory as well as bragging rights within their own sex. Each stage is around 100-120km although only the middle 40km is actually timed for results. The rest is used for warming up, cooling down and of course socializing, lots of it! In addition there is a “B” group for cyclo-tourists. They complete the same tour but at more relaxed pace with no timed section. The event also doubles as a fundraiser for “Help Save Elikas”, (http://www.elikasfoundation.blogspot.com/) a foundation for people with special needs.
The Tour of Cyprus is always held a bit too soon after the conclusion of my incredibly long and intense cyclocross season, leaving me with only a month of down time in between. But when I was asked to join in on the fun, I knew it was clearly an offer I could not refuse! I had attended this event two years previous and it was an absolute blast. Tour of Cyprus offered me the opportunity to feel the warm sun on my quads (something that’s a rarity in my current residence of Belgium), rid myself of pasty white skin, meet folks from all over the world, experience exotic foods, challenge myself in the mountains and collect memories to last a lifetime. This year’s edition somehow managed to exceed my already high expectations!
The first time I participated in the Tour of Cyprus I was accompanied by my husband Jonas. But this time around I swapped him out for my longtime friend Nancy Farzan (http://tobelgiumwithlove.blogspot.com/2012/03/man-bijt-hond.html?spref=fb ). While I was using this event as a kickstart to my off-season cyclocross training, Nancy had other designs. Last August, she had lost her husband, the love of her life named Yves Knuts, a mere two months after their wedding party. The Tour of Cyprus was to be one of her “firsts” in a new chapter of her life – an opportunity to heal, grow and connect with the outside world again. I must admit I was curious to see how our goals would mesh.
We arrived in Cyprus at the Larnaka Airport a couple of days before the event. Good thing we had time to spare. Within five minutes of pulling out of the airport, we were already lost. And if it weren’t hard enough to navigate in a strange land, we had to drive on the “wrong” side of the road while reading signs in Greek. Just before the sun set, we made it to our final destination in Lefkosia, a very large city located in the center of Cyprus.
Just before our eyes closed that evening, Nancy and I shared our hopes for this event. My babble was filled with laughter, optimism and fist-pounding while Nancy’s included laughter and optimism as well but mixed instead with a few tears and a sniffle. I sniffled along with her since her loss hits very close to home. My situation is similar to Nancy’s as I too have found the love of my life in the form of a Belgian and also gave up my California lifestyle to be with him.
The next day we came across a bike shop owned by Cypriot road cycling champion, Michael Agrotis. He enthusiastically directed us out of town and into the rolling hills through a nice park riddled with quaint little bike paths. Aside from having to ride on the left side of the street, we found the roads in Cyprus to be rather cycling friendly. The pavement was basically in good condition and riding with traffic was easy. What I found a little bizarre at first, though, was that some cars felt it necessary to warn you with a honk of the horn before they cautiously passed you.
That afternoon we had two errands to run. The first was to visit the Podilatokinisi Cyprus Cycling Association 5km away to collect our race packets and the second was to go to the pre-race meeting located a mere 2km away. Somehow, again thanks to my genetically challenged sense of direction, we were lost both times. Next year I will do the driving and let Nancy navigate!
Let the races begin!
The 6:15am wake-up calls were a bit of a shock, considering I haven’t crawled out of bed before 9am in the last month during my off-season. While the coffee in Cyprus was excellent, I wasn’t quite ready for some of the breakfast foods on the buffet spread such as olives, beans in tomato sauce, hummus, and tahini. Thankfully the organizer had arranged for spaghetti at every meal. 
Each stage started off with a sendoff by a Mayor or other important official and ended with a tasty Cyprus feast. In the timed sections, Nancy and I competed against an international variety of riders from exotic locations like Malta, Lebanon, Israel, Dubai, Greece, the UK, and of course Cyprus. Some came as a team while others attended as individuals or with friends.
As for the tour routes, the first day was a power rider’s paradise with numerous short steep climbs combined with significant stretches of downhill – definitely something for me considering I was coming off a cyclocross season where we specialize in this sort of terrain. The second and third days, however, were reserved for the real climbers where the timed sections included climbs in upwards of 13km.
Before the first timed section began, I already met my toughest female competition at the event – a pure climber named Sabine Gandini. Based on her sinewy whippet-like build and her hometown in the high mountains of Italy’s Trentino region, I knew she was going to be tough to beat. And just in case I didn’t figure this out on my own, she informed me often that she was an excellent climber. I found it to be very kind of her to arm me with this knowledge early on in the race so I can immediately start to work on my game plan of beating a climber on her own turf.
During the three days of racing, I kept complete focus on my goal of dropping climber gal (as well as the other strong racer chicks from places like Malta and the UK) on all sections of the race before the mountain portions. I continuously wiggled my way into almost every little group that formed off the front of the peloton. But once there, as hard as I tried to motivate the guys to keep the pace high, they backed off their effort just enough for the others, including climber gal, to reconnect every time. While I won the first stage that suited me well, the second and third went to climber gal. She went on to take the women’s overall while I took second. In the mixed (men/women) overall she was 9th while I finished 13th.
After every stage, Nancy and I compared notes. I shared stories of my repeated failed efforts of trying to drop climber gal while she talked of inspirational exchanges she had with other riders, a tear making its way down her cheek as she told me all about it. She too gave the timed sections everything she had. Her determination also took her far in the results, showing herself very well against the guys to beat some of them along the way. Only one time did she admit to being off her game. It happened in the beginning of the final timed section. While deep in thought, she happened to have glanced behind to spot a guy from the cyclo-tourist group gaining ground on her. He was sitting so incredibly upright that his oversized handlebar bag had no chance of providing cover for him against the wind. The moment she saw him, she got into the drops and powered away while simultaneously laughing at herself.
While all of Cyprus may be beautiful, there were a few cities in particular that we visited along the way that made an impression on me. The first one that amazed me was the rustic mountain town of Lythrodontas. It was equipped with lots of lovely old-style shops and a gorgeous church as the backdrop. We were greeted by a collection of locals who laid out a wonderful display of Cyprus treats including bananas, dried fruit, olives and grilled bread dipped in the tastiest Greek olive oil I’ve ever had. After two pieces of this wonderful bread and an Arizona Iced Tea to wash it all down, I was fueled up and ready for the timed section to begin.
Another town that blew me away was Pano Lefkara. Located on a mountaintop overlooking the numerous valleys, this city is most famously known for preserving the ancient craft of lace-making. While strolling through the undulating narrow cobblestoned roads in the center of town, we spotted collections of women sitting outside storefronts hard at work making lace by hand.
We stopped at this town for our feed zone just after the timed section on the second day of racing. To reward all of us for kicking our own asses, Tour of Cyprus arranged for a cultural experience included dancing and singing performances coupled with a gorgeous display of Cypriotic food and drinks. Offered up were all sorts of pastries, cakes and other delicacies. I pigged out mainly on Soutzoukos, a sweet gel-like roll made from grape juice and filled with almonds. I also grabbed a large glass filled with dark red liquid. As the first big gulp slid smoothly my throat I quickly realized the mystery juice had a nice kick to it. I quietly emptied my glass, thankful for bit of alcohol to soothe the nerves but I knew better than to take a refill with another 50km of mountain climbing to go before our final destination of Limassol. 
Limassol was yet another beautiful destination located right on the beach. It’s famous for its festivals like the Carnival and Wine Festival. During our brief stay there, I took advantage of its peaceful beach where I sat on a rock garden protruding into the water. I may have been there for only twenty minutes but it was enough to feel relaxed and recharged.
Another beach destination that I enjoyed very much was Larnaka. Lined with palm trees, its seafront is something straight out of a postcard. We stayed overnight in that town after the first stage. Once showered after the race, Nancy and I headed over to the picturesque waterfront for a bite to eat. A veggie burger always tastes better when watching the tide flow in and out. If we weren’t so tired, I’m sure we would have enjoyed checking out the stores as it appeared to be a shopper’s paradise. 
The final town that seemed very cool was Kouklia, the mythical birthplace of Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love and beauty. It was there that we had our final Tour of Cyprus party. Our festivities were held in the center square surrounded by quaint cafes. The Tour served up a long table filled with exotic bites. As a vegan, my options were limited but I did find a couple of treats that made me beam. The one that won me over most was Loukoumades without syrup, Cyprus’ version of donut holes. 
After the race was over, we drove back to our gorgeous hotel on the Larnaka waterfront where we spent our last two nights. The next morning, Nancy and I continued with our “overload training” by setting out to do a hilly ride of 120km. We were again lost more times than we could count, but this time it didn’t matter. Our trip was already a success. I got a solid kickstart to my offseason training while collecting friendships, a couple of kilos on my hips and trophies along the way and Nancy took her first step into a new chapter in her life.
Next year we will surely return to Tour of Cyprus. Our expectations may change by then but the event has proven flexible enough that what you put into it is what you get back. I expect we will once again ride away with wonderful experiences customized for each of us.
