Several foreign teams participating in the 2025 Tour de Entete cycling race arrived in Kupang. The arrival of teams peaked on Monday (September 8, 2025). That day, the committee welcomed most of the teams at El Tari Airport.
Foto: Gatha Ginting
The first team to arrive at 6:05 a.m. WITA was the Paris Cycling Team. They were riders Sloan Horny and Lois Buffin, accompanied by team manager Lotfi Tchambaz. They arrived at Terminal 1 Domestic and were immediately taken to the governor’s official residence to rest for a while before heading to the Kristal Hotel, where the team was staying.
Sloan and Lois, who were visiting Indonesia for the first time, admitted to being somewhat tired after the long journey from their home in Marseille.
They had to take four trains to Paris and then fly to Jakarta, with a stopover in Xiamen, China. Arriving in Jakarta early the next morning, they flew directly to Kupang.
Sloan said that, although somewhat tired, they were in good condition and just needed to adjust to the more humid weather. They had sampled rice and fried chicken in Jakarta and were interested in trying traditional Indonesian cuisine. However, they would likely only realize that desire after the race to maintain their fitness ahead of the event. Regarding the race, Sloan, who was assigned as the team’s ruller, stated that his personal goal was to finish the race with all of his team members. Before heading to Indonesia, the two had competed in a championship in western France.
He estimated that the first stage, Kupang-Kefamenanu, a distance of 208 km, would be very challenging. Team member Axel Habert will arrive tomorrow, and two other Indonesian riders, Luki Braga Pratma and Feri Febi Saputra, will be arriving.
Another group arriving at 8:40 a.m. WITA included the Go For Gold team from the Philippines and Pontianak Wijaya Racing.
Meanwhile, a large group of racers arriving at the airport at 12:45 p.m. WITA were the CDF Racing team from England, Malaysia Pro Cycling, Nex Velofit from Australia, and Madar Pro Cycling Team from Algeria. Meanwhile, Jakarta Pro Cycling and NUsantara BYC were scheduled to arrive at 2:10 p.m. WITA. (*)
