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Standard Bank IRONMAN African Championship.

By: Chris Hitchcock

On: December 8, 2020

Standard Bank IRONMAN African Championship.

For me, as the event photographer, it is a 9 hour drive to the race from my home base in Cape Town. Always in the back of my mind, is the knowledge that when I get to Port Elizabeth I will be greeted by pristine beaches, a clean city, and thousands of welcoming locals. This photo is everything in one.

The route is challenging, and occasionally very tricky. Johannesburg based athlete Desiree Dickinson may have got this corner wrong, but she survived, and what remains in my mind is that she laughed all the way through the incident.

Rolling hills, and then more rolling hills, are a feature of the Standard Bank IRONMAN African Championship route. Event winner Frederik van Lierde rates it as one of the toughest events on the circuit, and you can see why in this image.

At the farthest point of the 2 loop bike circuit is the Maitland river mouth, and the Maitland ‘sand mountain’. At this point riders turn left up a steep hill and hit the prevailing Easterly wind. Beyond this turnaround are hundreds of miles of stunning beaches along South Africa’s Garden Route.

The decent into Sea View is very fast, and certainly not for the fainthearted. Speeds of 80kph can easily be achieved. What you can’t see in this image is the large pod of dolphins beyond the surf line, that appeared to be pacing the photo bike.

40km before the start/finish line riders battle into the head wind, known locally as the ‘Beasterly Easterly’. I climbed up the dunes next to the road to get a more panoramic view of the riders and surf using a wide angle lens.

The wind generators in the background are there because there are always winds along this coast. This is where riders start to feel the first bit of hurt on lap one of the cycle. The smiles will be completely gone by lap two.

The race is an amalgam of various cultures. The one thing they all have in common is a desire to have fun and make the race a success. The local population are renowned worldwide for their support of the race and the athletes. To me, this photo epitomises what the race is all about.

In this image, the race course winds through the verdant rolling hills before the Maitland River turnaround. Protected by the valley, riders get a welcome respite from the winds and the opportunity to enjoy some of the best views that you can get on an Ironman anywhere in the world.

IRONMAN African Championship

Coming into land, and despite this being Africa, it really could be any paradise resort in the world. The beaches in Nelson Mandela Bay, Port Elizabeth are world class, and the people welcoming, although race winner Frederik van Lierde in the middle of the shot, has other things on his mind.

Despite living 800km away, the Standard Bank IRONMAN African Championship is my home race. I well remember struggling along this part of Beach Road when I did the race a few years back. It’s almost cruel of the organisers to put up signs reminding the athletes how long the event is. The difficulty with photographing the moments of suffering, is that as soon as the guys see the camera, both thumbs come up, smiles reappear and the stride gets an extra jig in it. So when I get a shot like this, I know the subject is suffering so much he hasn’t noticed me.

2020-12-08

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