Cape Town cyclist can’t wait to take on El Tour de Tucson

Friederich Skipp knows about big bicycle events – and has for years – given he’s in Cape Town, which plays host to the Cape Town Cycle Tour where 30,000 cyclists gather to ride.

Yes, that’s 30,000.

Friederich’s next goal? El Tour de Tucson … and we can’t wait to see him. He’ll be here for the November 21, 2026 ride.

We’ve long said El Tour is truly international, given riders from 13 countries consistently have shown up to ride in El Tour.

Now, we can include South Africa on that list.

“I really look forward to pulling (off) a sub two hours, 45 minutes (for 62 miles),” said Skipp.

All seems doable for the long-time cyclist. He’s been riding for 35 years. He’s 46 years old.

For now, it’s all about cycling and having fun.

“I believe age is just a number,” he said. “I’m also trying to make up for lost time due to injury and life changes that hindered me in my prime to thoroughly enjoy cycling – so here I am.”

He’s enjoying it because he can and now has means to do it.

“I didn’t grow up with much means to explore cycling, so a simple mountain bike was it for me,” he said. “Since I race cross country – and that kinda died – I focused on rugby, surfing and my degree. Then came two injuries that took four years to recover.

“Once I began to earn decent money and kicked off my career that’s when I started to learn how to build up my own bikes, lacing wheels and so forth. Now, I have a arsenal of bikes to compete in gravel, XC and road racing, which has been very successful. Just recently as part of a relay team, we placed fourth during Aukeman Tri Olympic distance, so up and up.”

So, how did he find out about El Tour?

“I was approached by a friend of mine from California, asking me if I would be keen to join him and his friends for the Tour,” he explained. “He wanted some strong riders in the rotation for a set personal goal, and me being a 2 meters tall and over 200 pounds to sit behind for draft, well … I’ll serve my purpose!”

So, he’s in. He’s big time in and he’ll be ready. In fact, he asked how the weather will be come November. The answer is: gorgeous because it’s Tucson and it’s the fall. So, 70-something with maybe – just maybe – a slight breeze.

He’ll be ready in part because he trains in the wind.

“The wind makes you stronger,” he said. “Climbs are good for you. The combination of those two together, well, 100km at sub three hours definitely becomes more interesting!”

He’ll be coming from Alaska, where he’ll working before the ride. He’ll ride there in preparation

“If the weather holds, my time on the mountain bike for cross country rides will be more my focus than the road,” he said.

For now, he’ll ride – and wait – for the big day in November.

“Thanks to El Tour for hosting this,” he said. “The Cape Town Cycle Tour is the highlight of my early autumn, so being able to do this as Juneau Alaska ramps up for another brutal winter, this will be a great outlet for that four months of uncertainty.”