The participants are expedition riders who cover each day at their own pace, stopping in the villages and roadside cafes.
[2] The organisers prepare three meals every day and transport tents and other equipment the riders need for the night stops.
The 2003 Tour d'Afrique set a Guinness World Record for fastest crossing of Africa by bicycle and this was achieved by nine participants of the race, Michael Kennedy, Chris Evans, Dave Genders (all from the United Kingdom), Paul Reynaert (Belgium), Jeremy Wex, Steve Topham, Scotty Robinson, Andrew Griffin (all from Canada) and Sascha Hartl (Austria).
The race component of the Tour d'Afrique was suspended after 2017, with the event continuing as an annual cycling expedition.
[4] Hardy Grüne: Tour d'Afrique: 12 000 Kilometer Radrennen von Kairo nach Kapstadt, 2011