The Timor Detour 2019

… is over! And some even made it to the end :-)

Enjoy a video impression. Note that there's not much footage of the Makaas route — if you want to see what that was like, grab your bicycle and some snacks and go there!

What is the Timor Detour?

The Timor Detour 2019 is a 6-stage mountainbike race in the mountains of Timor Leste, held June 23rd — 28th 2019. June in Timor, at the start of the dry season, offers (relatively) cool weather and lush environments. Since for the most part we'll ride above 1000m this means cool riding amidst spectacular scenery — all the more so since we'll be going on remote mountain tracks.

It's 450K of riding with about 17000m of ascent for the harder route, and 350K of riding with a little over 10000m of ascent for the easier route.

Two routes: hard and harder

This race features two interweaving routes of different difficulty level:

KAPAAS
“Kapaas” is Tetum for “pretty”. This route is approachable for all riders of decent fitness, but it's no joke. There can be stages with ~85K of distance, and ~1500m of altitude gain. Quite some of it will be on tarmac, but there will be a good amount of dirt road too. The downhills are suitable for a mountainbiker new to the sport. Because the route follows established roads, help is never far away (well, not *far, far away*).The kapaas route is even accessible to aspiring but inexperienced riders who start training _right now_.
MAKAAS
The “Makaas” (“intense”) route is a true endurance challenge, with difficult (or “technical”) uphills and exhilarating downhills on the roughest terrain that Timor has to offer. It will throw all the mountains of Timor at you, all at once, and you'll have to eat your way through, no cutlery provided. Some makaas stages are going to be harder than any mountainbike race stage ever seen in Timor. Be prepared for 120K+ distances and perhaps 3500m of altitude gain on some days. There will be little tarmac, lots of challenging road surfaces and in some places you may have to hike-a-bike for a bit to get around obstacles.

A Minimum Viable Race

This race is designed as a Minimum Viable Race , as it is a nonprofit effort organized by unpaid volunteers in a very short amount of time. As such, things are kept as simple as possible.

There's benefits to that:

  1. Low entry fee. It will be about ±$185.
  2. Your whole entry fee will go towards your experience. There's no overhead. We don't have time for overhead.
  3. Designer tracks! The routes will take you past out-of-reach locations that you are not likely to see otherwise. These trails are hand-picked by actual mountainbikers that enjoy cycling here.
  4. Inclusive. Through sponsorship (included in the ±$185) we'll make it possible for Timorese talent to join up and ride in their own beautiful backcountry.
  5. Rewarding for different levels, with two routes to choose from to match your level.
  6. A joint experience. With the interweaving routes, riders in both classes will finish spaced close together.

But, this Minimum Viable Race concept also necessitates the following:

  1. It's an adventure race, for which you'll have to do your part in maintaining your safety & sustenance.
  2. There's no prize money for the majority of categories. That doesn't mean there won't be a prize.
  3. No goodie bag, no sponsor flags.
  4. Limited support on the road. You'll have to ride conservatively to keep yourself safe. We won't have a dedicated medical support staff.
  5. Very limited on-road route directions. As part of your preparation, you will have to familiarize yourself with the route using digital maps, and on the road you will have to be able to reference our track for the day with a smartphone or other gadget. We will provide a route, and some pointers to help you on your way to start practicing with this (do practice) if you've never navigated this way. We'll organize a digital mapping clinic in Dili to get you up to speed.

What will we provide?

  1. Basic but safe lodging.
  2. Water in the camps. In addition, at key hard points along the routes where it will be hard for you to resupply by other means, we'll have a water stop.
  3. Basic breakfast, locally provided dinner.
  4. Safe transport for your luggage.
  5. As said, GPX/KML tracks with route details.
  6. Sponsorship for qualifying Timorese riders in the form of bike repairs (making them ridable so they can train), food & lodging, and limited prize money.
  7. Timekeeping.
  8. Transparent budget.

Relation between the Timor Detour and the Tour de Timor — The Timor Detour is in no way organizationally related or affiliated with the Tour de Timor. We reached out (to info@tourdetimor.com, in early March) hoping to get confirmation about whether the Tour de Timor would be happening this year, and we informed them about our intent to organize a race this year, and we have not received a response.