close

Tour complete

2 min read

More cyclists than ever took part in the 24th annual Tour de Cape this past weekend.

Hosted by the Cape Coral Parks and Recreation Department, the event featured a 5K Run and a Kids 5K Ride on Saturday at Cape Harbour, followed by four different bicycling routes on Sunday.

Todd King, with the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, heard no complaints.

“The weather was beautiful,” he said Tuesday. “Overall, it was a great event and a great day.”

This year, 975 cyclists and 320 runners signed up to take part in the run and tour.

“It was close,” King said of the participant turnout. “We had 100 more riders in the cycling tour compared to last year, so we saw a little bit of growth.”

He noted that there is a growing enthusiasm in the Cape for cycling and for the event.

“We’re getting folks from as far away as Canada coming down for our little tour,” King said. “It’s exciting to see that kind of growth.”

The Tour de Cape offers cyclists a 15-mile, 30-mile, 60-mile and 100-mile course.

Organizers were concerned because the 62-mile and 100-mile routes were rerouted due to the utilities expansion.

“We had a few new sections that riders had never been on before, but that all went really really well,” he said. “Everything came off better than we had anticipated.”

A few skinned knees were reported over the weekend.

“But we had no serious injuries,” King said.

Saturday’s 5K Run is a certified course designed for advanced and notice runners.

“We had about the same amount of runners as we’ve had in the past,” he said.

The master, the grand master and the top three finishers in each age category are recognized.

“We end up doing about 120 medals and eight trophies,” King said.

Also on Saturday is the Kids 5K Ride, which is 3.1 miles long.

“We had 100 kids (participate),” he said.

For more information on the annual Tour de Cape, visit online at: www.tourdecape.net. According to the site, preparations are already under way for the 2016 event.

Cape Harbour is at 5848 Cape Harbour Drive.