Photos from the North Island Tour Buy the North Island Tour 2012 CD (single CD) for $45 including postage. Email bronwyn@tourofnewzealand.co.nz to order. Since our photographers donated their time, all proceeds will be shared by our charities. These will be available towards the end of next week (25 May). South Island discs that are ordered and paid will be posted this Friday (18 May). Reminder about the special offer if you order by today!
Nice article in the Fiordland Advocate Great job Fiordland Flyers! Check it the article here.
Photos from the South Island Tour Change of plan. We decided it was too hard to try to identify individuals and instead we'll just do a full CD of participants. So now we have options: Buy the Highlights (Top 100) CD OR the Actions (focus on competitors) CD - either is $45 including postage, or you can buy the two for $70 (until 16 May) or $80 thereafter. View a sample of the Highlights photos here and the sample of the Actions photos here then email bronwyn@tourofnewzealand.co.nz to order. Since our photographers donated their time, all proceeds will be shared by our three charities - Westpac Chopper Appeal, Hikurangi and St John Ambulance.
Thanks to everyone for taking part in the inaugural Tour of New Zealand. If you haven't already become a site member, make sure you register your interest for any future Tours. A Tour of New Zealand DVD with highlights from the event is currently being produced and will air on SKY TV, more details to follow. Final results are up. Share your memories and photos on our facebook page or visit the team racebook for last minute team sponsorship or read the latest news and team updates.
View the Race Rules and Event Rules. These Rules are intended to ensure your safety on the road and make this a fun and exciting event. Please read them carefully and team coordinators, please share them with your team!
The 2012 Tour has now finished. Join the most dramatic, accessible multi-day cycling stage race ever to hit New Zealand. It's an 8-day amateur event designed to celebrate everything good about cycling, scenery, competition and community, played out on some of the best roads the country has to offer.
This Tour has truly got something for everyone, from occasional riders looking for a motivating, achievable goal, through to hardcore racers aiming for a week of perfect suffering. And its supported by some of New Zealand's cycling celebrities, including pro road racer Hayden Roulston and international track heroine Ali Shanks. They all want to see you get on your bike...
And when you do get on your bike we've got a real adventure lined up for you.
You'll ride the length of one of New Zealand's magnificient islands...you choose which one... over 7 days of stage rides, and meet for a head-to-head criterium in the grounds of the Beehive to decide the winners in each category.
This final blast around the 1.5km criterium course will start and finish on the steps of Parliament, under the watchful bronze eyes of past Prime Ministers.
You can enter individually to compete on every stage, or choose your team and enter 3 or 4 or 5 bikes on each daily stage. The team structure is completely flexible, so if someone gets tired or can't make the schedule you can bring in substitute riders any day you want. The goal is simply to get your team colours to Wellington and have brilliant fun along the way.
Each day you will be road riding for between 3 and 6 hours.
In the South Island you will pedal past mountains, conquer high country passes, and glimpse the iridescent blues of the Southern Lakes. The thousands of dairy cows and high country sheep will probably ignore you as you pass by, but the townsfolk will be out in force to cheer you on.
In the North Island you will swoop through ancient Kauri forests, admire the fabulous beaches of Northland, and catch a whiff of the sulphur that bubbles around the Central Plateau as you head towards the magic of the Whanganui River and its kilometres of bush-lined, birdsong-bathed roads.
The rest of New Zealand will be watching your progress with TV crews and helicopter support beaming back coverage that will make the couch potatoes wish they were in your shoes.
Are you up for the challenge? You might see it as a self-propelled holiday with a bunch of like-minded people...or you might have felt a shot of adrenaline as soon as you realised that this is a stage race, a real stage race, that you can take on and win.
