Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Tour of South Africa

Yesterday the third leg of the Cell C Tour of South Africa cycle race took place in and around Port Elizabeth.  The 177 km leg started at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium and took them out past Motherwell and around the Addo Elephant National Park.  From there the riders headed back to the city via Colchester before tackling a couple of steep climbs around Central and South End.  I was waiting for them just before the finish line at Humewood on the beachfront.  We've been having very nice weather lately, but the wind came up on cue and decided to remind all why Port Elizabeth is also called the Windy City (how I hate that name), and the riders had the endure hot and windy conditions.  The leg was won by Yohann Gene of France in 4:05:27, followed by Johann Rabie of South Africa and Gregory Habeaux of Belguim.  All in all the day went of very very well and was a showcase of the city's capabilities of hosting events like this.

The leading group taking the last corner into Marine Drive

The chasing bunch was only a minute or so behind...

...with the peloton a couple of minutes behind them.

5 comments:

  1. You really did catch the action just right and the camera angles are great - all night photos.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It looks hot! There are lots and lots of cyclists in Cape Towm too - all gearing up for the Argus. Nice actions shots!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Some fantastic biking photos - zoom, zoom, off they go!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great to see. It will probably be a few weeks before i can dress like this and go for a ride.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nice photos with a beautiful blue sky. I once caught the finish of the Tours de France by chance whilst spending a few days in Paris many years ago.

    ReplyDelete