THIS year’s Cape Town Cycle Tour, the 47th in the race’s history, saw more than 20 000 entrants cycling around the Cape Peninsula in near perfect conditions.

Among those cycling the 109km route was Durban North resident Malcolm Biggar and his sons Seth (23), Ethan (24) and Aaron (30).

For Malcolm, the race marked his 22nd and final appearance at the Cape Town Cycle Tour, while it was the family’s seventh together overall.

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The quartet crossed the finish line together and it was an emotional journey for Malcolm who explained the significance of 22.

“The number 22 holds particular significance for me as it is the date of one of my son’s birthdays, my grandfather passed away on the 22nd and several of my family members also have birthdays on the 22nd. When I started cycling the Cape Town Cycle Tour the plan was to stop at 22. I’ve been blessed to complete the last seven with all three of my sons. They said they noticed me getting a bit teary eyed in the last 200m but in all honesty it was the last 10km that was very emotional.

“I’ve been doing the race since 2000 but the last few years it has been special sharing a sport I love with my sons. I think now it’s time to pivot to supporting them while they chase their personal bests (PBs) and extend their own personal records. For me the Cape Town Cycle Tour is the best cycling event in the country, it is one of the best organised and if I had to punt any cycling event, I’d recommend that one,” he said.

His son Seth explained how doing the race in years to come wouldn’t feel the same.

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“Sports has always been the pinnacle of our family. As soon as we could walk, our father had us swimming, running, and cycling. Essentially when the sun was out, we were out. This race has been a special one for us as a family and emotionally it will never be the same without him. It has become more than a race for us because it would also be a family vacation. He is also a sucker for selfies so we have tons of photos of us before, during and after the race,” Seth said.

The feelings were the same for Ethan.

“We grew up doing different cycle races but the Cape Town Cycle Tour was always the one we looked forward to the most. There was a time when we were younger where he would push us up the hills motivating us, now we are pushing him up the hills,” Ethan quipped. “The most important part of this race has been finishing as a family and I hope one day to continue the legacy, and get our children involved,” he said.

Creating that bit of legacy is also important to Aaron.

“Among the family there has always been brotherly love and it has felt like our father is the oldest brother. We have created a legacy within our family and we hope for it to continue. The Cape Town Cycle Tour is a race we all look forward to every year, we actually diarise it in our plans because it’s also a family vacation. Personally I think my father will get Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) and will do another race with us,” he said.

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