Kiwi Competes With Honour In Timor-Leste Bike race

Media Release
23 September 2010

Kiwi Soldier Competes With Honour In Timor-Leste Mountain Bike Race

A Kiwi soldier serving with the New Zealand Defence Force in Timor-Leste, has finished 28th out of 300 participants there in one of the toughest mountain bike races in the world.

Captain Andrew Thornton, whose day job involves working at Camp Phoenix, the International Stabilisation Force (ISF) Headquarters in Dili, was the only Kiwi to join an eight person ISF team made up of Australian Defence Force personnel.
The Tour de Timor is an at times exhausting five day multi-stage 400km race on a track that reaches up to 2000 metres in altitude. It was first run in 2009.
Captain Thornton consistently finished in the top 30 each day, resulting in his 28th place in the final results. He said it was a hard race, and dangerous at times, but the support from the locals was fantastic.

“The locals watching us fly by were waving and shouting ‘Australia, Australia!’. I made sure I corrected them and said ‘No, New Zealand, New Zealand!”

Captain Thornton says that being the only New Zealander within the team lent itself to the usual Trans-Tasman rivalry.

“The opportunity to compete as part of an ANZAC team was great, and thanks to the recent All Blacks games, not much in the way of rivalry was dealt out! The team bonded really well and the concept of the ‘ISF team’ was helped along as each rider wore the red and black ISF jersey, promoting our participation in the stabilisation of Timor-Leste.”

The 1st place winner of Tour de Timor was an Australian professional rider and the first East Timorese national across the line was a 15 year old young man whose excitement about his finishing in the top 20 was infectious and a pleasure for all to see.

The Commander of the ISF, Colonel Simon Stuart (Australian Defence Force), said he was proud of his personnel entering the tough race, let alone achieving such great results.

“The ISF teams surpassed everyone’s expectations and did an absolutely sterling job in such a tough race,” Colonel Simon Stuart, said

“The support teams too did a great job representing the ISF, really making it a successful event for the riders.

“However I think the real credit also goes to Timor-Leste, for organising and executing a first class, world standard sporting event.”

An ISF support crew from Forward Operating Base HPOD and Headquarters Camp Phoenix had the busy job of travelling ahead of the riders and setting up ‘Taj-ma-hootchies’ to house the exhausted riders at the end of each day as well setting up communications back to ISF headquarters and providing night security.

Other race competitors and locals villagers were so impressed with the sophistication of the Army’s camp set-up it turned into a tourist attraction in its own right with people taking photos.

The ISF also supported the event through the provision of transport, the set up of field catering equipment and a first aid and medical support team.

In addition to the logistical support, the ISF provided night Aero-Medical Evacuation support, collecting a race competitor the first night.

The race is set to be run again same time next year.

ENDS

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