A South African cycling team will head for Hong Kong on Thursday
to participate in the second Tour of Hong Kong-Shanghai, which will
start from Hong Kong on Sunday.
Team CSC/Marcello riders include Chris Willemse Jnr, Jeremy
Maartens, Abdelbasset Hannachi and Gilbert Quevauvilliers, the
South African Press Association (SAPA) reported on Monday.
They will also be joined by guest riders Dean Edwards from
KwaZulu-Natal Province and Michael Pepper from Gauteng
Province.
Chris Willemse Snr, manager of Team CSC/Marcello, said Robbie
Hunter's recent success at the Tour de France has greatly inspired
his fellow South African cyclists and the CSC/Marcello team is
determined to bring further honor to South African cycling by
delivering winning performances in China.
The 2,300 km tour, which takes place between July 29 and August
4, will move from the city of Hong Kong to provinces of
Guangdong,Jiangxi and Zhejiang before finishing in Shanghai.
More than 100 cyclists from 18 teams will participate in the
tour, including teams from China, Russia, Indonesia, the United
States, the Netherlands, South Africa and Japan.
Organizers of the Tour of Hong Kong-Shanghai have reportedly
expressed the hope to make the event an Asian version of the Tour
de France.
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(Xinhua News Agency July 24, 2007)