Tour de limpopo

Athletes climbing out the valley towards Tzaneen on the second stage of the Tour de Limpopo. Image: © BOOGS Photography / Andrew Mc Fadden

From the 15-18th of May 2019, I had the amazing opportunity to be the official photographer at the Tour de Limpopo. The event room riders through some stunning roads that pass through the province of Limpopo.

The race been a UCI category 2.2 event, attracted riders and teams world wide, as everyone saw the opportunity to get their hands on some valuable UCI points, as well as prize money that went with it. This resulted in some tight unpredictable racing; that saw a different winner on each stage, as well as the leaders yellow jersey jumping onto the shoulders of 3 different riders throughout the duration of the Tour.

Each and every day, the morning starts with all athletes signing on; this is a way organisers can monitor who is still in the race and who has pulled out over night. It is a very basic process that is vital for the tour.

Stage 1 of the Tour de Limpopo, saw the riders take a 175km route from Bela Bela to Polokwane. The stage consisted of 3 sprints as well as 1 KOM hot spot. I had fun rushing between each spot, as well as stopping by the side of the road to capture the action. It was so exciting to photograph and watch how the racing unfolded through the day; from the heavily contested sprints to the drag up to the only KOM of the day. Even after such a punishing day, was great to see a small bunch sprint finish that saw defending champion Gustav Basson(TEAM TEG CONTINENTAL) take the honours.

Stage 2 saw a much quieter route from Polokwane to Tzaneen, with only 1 sprint and 1 KOM to speak of over the 96,6km route. However, even with less on the route profile, the stage include a hair raising decent about 15km from the finish. The stage ended up being a decisive day, with over night leader  Gustav Basson(TEAM TEG CONTINENTAL) taking a tumble shortly after the sprint that saw him fall out of reach of other GC hopefuls. The stage came down to another sprint finish, which saw Connor Brown(DIMENSION DATA FOR QHUBEKA CONTINENTAL TEAM) narrowly nudge the win from fellow South African Clint Hendricks(TEAM PROTOUCH CONTINENTAL).

Stage 3 was a very interesting day for me behind the camera. The stage was 103km in length with no sprints and only 1 hot spot. The stage's party piece was a brutal finishing climb, that saw the peloton completely shatter. The climb up to The Old Coach House in Tzaneen, was the thorn in many GC hopefuls plans. With over night leader Connor Brown(DIMENSION DATA FOR QHUBEKA CONTINENTAL TEAM) having been dropped earlier in the day, it was all to play for with anyone who remained. Unbelievably, the stage still came down to a sprint finish, with Samuele Battistella(DIMENSION DATA FOR QHUBEKA CONTINENTAL TEAM) muscling his way passed Kent Main(TEAM PROTOUCH CONTINENTAL) and  Eric Manizabayo(BENEDICTION CYCLING TEAM - Rwanda) to grab the stage win as well as the GC overall.  

Stage 4; the final day of the tour, saw riders depart Tzaneen for Polokwane on a 116km route that followed the same route as stage 2 but in the other direction.  The stage consisted of 1 sprint and 1 KOM before finishing with some fast and furious laps around the streets of the Peter Mokaba Stadium. I had lots of fun bouncing too and from the constant breakaways and the main peloton. The stage came down to another sprint finish, with HB Kruger(TEAM ALFA BODYWORKS/GIANT) been pipped to the line by Clint Hendricks(TEAM PROTOUCH CONTINENTAL). 

A massive congratulation to all riders who managed to get it to the finish line after 4 brutal days of racing. And a special congratulations to all the category winners!

Overall:
1. Samuele Battistella(DIMENSION DATA FOR QHUBEKA CONTINENTAL TEAM)
2. Kent Main(TEAM PROTOUCH CONTINRNTAL)
3. Connor Brown(DIMENSION DATA FOR QHUBEKA CONTINENTAL TEAM)

Young Rider:
1. Samuele Battistella(Dimension Data FOR QHUBEKA CONTINENTAL TEAM)
2. Connor Brown(DIMENSION DATA FOR QHUBEKA CONTINENTAL TEAM)
3. Jason Oosthuizen(TEAM TEG CONTINENTAL)

KOM
1. Samuele Battistella(Dimension Data FOR QHUBEKA CONTINENTAL TEAM)
2. HB Kruger(TEAM ALFA BODYWORKS/GIANT)
3. Connor Brown(DIMENSION DATA FOR QHUBEKA CONTINENTAL TEAM)

Hot Spot
1. Jason Oosthuizen(TEAM TEG CONTINENTAL)
2. Nolan Hoffman(PROUD BEGINNERS)
​3. Gustav Basson(TEAM TEG CONTINENTAL)

Such an amazing tour to be part of, I can't wait to see how this Tour grows in the future. It was an absolute honour to be the photographer behind it all.

To see results head to their website.
To see images from each day head to their page.
To see some of my selected images head to my page.

Until next time

​Boogs