Cancer Council Classic 2011

This evening my husband and I joined 100,000 other people to watch the 2011 Cancer Council Classic.  I have never watched a road race from the sidelines before and I loved every minute.

The race, a prelude to the Tour Down Under, is a 30 lap, 51 kilometre road race.  Because of all the laps we had plenty of opportunities to see the cyclists as they sped past.

Adelaide was at her beautiful best tonight, warm and sunny, and with surrounding parklands gloriously green.

Before the race began, cars drove around the circuit with models of cyclists in the various team colours on top.  A loudspeaker announced which teams the different outfits represented.

The starting line.  The rider with the red 'R' on his shirt is Lance Armstrong.

The peloton.

The finishing line.  The winner was Matthew Goss from team HTC-Highroad.  Mark Renshaw came second and Robbie McEwen third.   In a very generous gesture, all the prize money for the race was donated to the Queensland flood appeal.