The 33rd Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour took place in Cape Town recently, in windy conditions, with the winds reaching speeds of up to 46km/h.
However, this was nowhere near the howling 100km/h gale-force winds of last year’s race, and racing conditions were manageable for most riders.
The 33rd Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour took place in Cape Town recently, in windy conditions, with the winds reaching speeds of up to 46km/h.
However, this was nowhere near the howling 100km/h gale-force winds of last year’s race, and racing conditions were manageable for most riders.
Thousands of eager fans gathered at the start early this morning, in the hope of seeing their hero, Lance Armstrong, who took part in this year’s event.
Other sporting heroes who participated include Gabriela Sabatini, Hugo Porta, and ex-Springbok captains Francois Pienaar, Bob Skinstad and Corne Krige.
Ian Sieborger of the Rhodes University Cycling Club cycled to raise R2 000 for the Chaeli Campaign, a Cape Town-based charity helping disabled children.
“I was hoping for a wind-free Argus and a sub-4 time to right the wrongs of last year. Even though neither materialised, I thrived on the race, feeling energetic right to the end,” said Sieborger.
Chad Sharrock of the Rhodes Cycling Club finished sixth in his age group out of 530. Kirsten Huysamen, also of the Rhodes cycling club managed to improve her time by 40 minutes from last year’s race and enjoyed the race, adding that the wind was “not that bad”.
Argus results: Umar Randeree finished in 5:47:45 on a mountain bike and this was his first race finish, after stopping last year’s race due to heavy winds.
“During the race I wanted to quit and I could not understand why I was punishing myself but I intend to go again next year,” said Randeree.
Johan Conradie, who finished in 3:19:54 said he was able to achieve one of his goals, by finishing within the top 1 000 finishers.
He did this by finishing 856 out of the 28 974 finishers. Pete Britz, who finished in 3:30:16 said he “had a really enjoyable ride as my preparations all seemed to fall into place”.
While he said the south easterly was strong in places he added that it was not nearly as bad as last
year’s event.
“It’s a great spectacle to take part in, especially waiting your turn in the pens at the start with the music, commentary and thousands of cyclists being unleashed every few minutes.”
Johan Conradie – 3:19:54, Colin Meyer – 3:24:58, Pete Britz – 3:30:16, Chad Sharrock – 3:31:49, Hennie Bouwer – 3:44:26, Glen Koch – 3:50:03, Lindsay Johnson – 4:05:09, Trevor Amos – 4:06:15, Nicole Craig – 4:08:40, Kirsten Huysamen 4:20:45, Keaton Johnson – 4:22:28, Ian Sieborger 4:23:59, Julie Walker – 4:26:00, Karen Meyer 4:45:06, Keith Craig – 4:46:51, Denis Pagel – 5:22:50, Cynthia Koch – 5:25:48, Fred Otten – 5:27:16, Morne van Wyk – 5:38:46, Annerie Wolmarans – 5:43:51, Ben Ford – 5:44:26, Len van der Merwe – 5:46:52, Umar Randeree – 5:47:45, William Brooks – 5:51:12, Neil Schoeman – 5:58:21, Sheldon Johnson – 6:02:24, Gwen Johnson – 6:11:47, Sally Price-Smith – 6:14:08, Richard Brooks – 6:22:43.
