- Forester teams up with Robbie Hunter for Mzansi Tour 2013
- Spacious and practical Subaru is the perfect partner for a cyclist
The all-new Subaru Forester finds itself in a challenging active environment on Wednesday 17 April as multiple cycling champion Robbie Hunter partners up with the new Forester for the inaugural Mzansi Tour. Poised as the perfect training partner for an avid cyclist like Hunter, the new Forester’s practicality, versatility and advanced design attributes will be put to the test in the real world and under strenuous conditions.
The perfect training partner
Featuring enhanced and advanced design elements over the old Subaru Forester, the new Forester is a more all-encompassing vehicle than ever before. When applied to the cycling environment, design and engineering aspects like the larger door openings, lower door sills, a larger tailgate opening than before and flatter boot floor, make the transportation and loading of bicycles, spares, equipment and racing kit a whole lot easier.
It’s no wonder then that South Africa’s most acclaimed cyclist has chosen the new Forester as his Mzansi Tour companion. Thanks to the Forester’s excellent interior space, comfortable ride, all-terrain adaptability courtesy of Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive™ and fuel efficiency thanks to the Boxer® engine, the Subaru Forester makes Robbie Hunter’s life so much easier and more relaxed, allowing him to focus on the race.
On his partnering with the new Forester for the Mzansi Tour, Hunter says, “the Forester is a brilliant car with lots of space for me and my bike. It’s also fun to drive, in my opinion probably one of the most underrated cars on South African roads today. It’s a car I’ve definitely come to love.”
Robbie Hunter and his Cervello R5 vs new Subaru Forester 2.5 XS Lineartronic™
| Robbie Hunter | Subaru Forester | |
| Date of birth | 22 April 1977 | 25 February 2013 |
| Major awards | Five times SA Cyclist of the Year, first South African to win a stage at the Tour de France (Stage 11, 2007) | Euro NCAP safest SUV 2012 |
| Powertrain | Hard training, long hours on lonely roads and USN supplements | 2.5-litre Boxer® petrol engine (126 kW/ 235 Nm) |
| Transmission | 11-speed Shimano Dura Ace Electric | Lineartronic™ CVT, Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive™ |
| Top Speed | 110 km/h | 196 km/h |
| Safety | Crash helmet | Ring-Shaped Reinforcement™, seven airbags, VDC, 5-star Euro NCAP and ANCAP ratings |
| Braking | Dura Ace Dual Pivot system | All-round disc brakes, ABS with EBD and BAS |
| Efficiency | < 300 calories per hour | 8.1-litres per 100 km, 187 g/km CO2 |
| Fancy gadgets | Garmin trip GPS | Reversing camera, electric driver’s seat, keyless entry and starting, SI DRIVE, X-MODE |
Safety is of paramount importance
With five-star safety ratings from both ANCAP and Euro NCAP, seven airbags and numerous other safety systems including Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC), the new Subaru Forester is not only one of the safest cars money can buy but it was also crowned as Euro NCAP’s safest SUV in 2012. With such a fastidious reputation for vehicle safety, the Subaru brand is an excellent match for a cycle race, where road safety is of paramount importance.
Hunter says the biggest problem between vehicles and cyclists is that most vehicles believe cyclists do not belong on the roads. Cyclists are also legal road users and when a collision between the two occurs, unfortunately it’s always the cyclist who comes off as the biggest loser unfortunately. “If most vehicles would just be prepared to slow down for a few extra seconds in order to pass a cyclist safely, we’d see a lot less problems on the roads. Passing distance between car and bicycle is also important to consider; at least 1.5 metres would be nice. In saying this however, it really is a two-way street and cyclists really need to obey the rules of the road as well,” says Hunter.
Mzansi Tour not for the feeble
The inaugural Mzansi Tour, which starts on the edge of the Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga, sees five lengthy stages spread over five days in which the cyclists will cover almost 780 km:
- Stage one: Skukuza Camp to Nelspruit via Sabie – 165 km
- Stage two: Lydenberg to Middelburg – 185 km
- Stage three: Witbank to Mamelodi – 144 km
- Stage four: Hartbeespoort Dam to Pretoria – 163 km
- Stage five: Montecasino to the Cradle of Humankind and back to Montecasino – 120 km
