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In the ten years since the world's youngest democracy has been through growing pains and made remarkable progress toward peace.
This month they are celebrating that progress with a grueling mountain bike race, the Tour de Timor. More than 350 riders, from seasoned competitive cyclicsts from Australia to local Timorese riders, are competing for a $75,000 prize.
Over grueling terrain, the race goes from city to seaside to mountains, over unpaved roads in many spots, and even involves carrying your bike over a few rivers. So far there have been spills, cuts and bruises, but no serious injuries. A number of contestants have complained they have fallen behind because they had to stop and look or take pictures of the pristine Timorese scenery --- which is stunning.
The race is the initiative of President and Nobel Laureate José Ramos-Horta, who dropped the flag to start the first day of the race. "We hope that everyone will be a winner in this race for peace," he said.