Johannesburg, February 2011 - The most anticipated international cycling event in South Africa this year, The Cell C Tour of South Africa is just around the corner. With twenty teams confirmed, and all parties rearing to go, the start list is impressive and will make for interesting following.

“Although all the teams have confirmed and booked their spots, we are awaiting the final starting list. We are very excited at how its all coming together and the support from the municipalities, tourism authorities and public so far has been fantastic” said Barry Mocke, CEO Cycling South Africa

Some of the teams will arrive in the country from as early as the 13th February to acclimatise and enjoy a few days of rest whilst preparing for the whoosh of excitement the Cell C Tour of South Africa brings with it.

The final list of starters comprises 120 riders, 20 teams, made up of 14 International and six local teams.
The inaugural Cell C Tour of South Africa will commence on the 19th February at Menlyn Park Shopping Centre with a team presentation at approximately 9am after which riders will make their way to the start line on Mante Road. The finish will take place on Witkoppen road at Montecasino where riders will have completed 167km stage.
Supporters are encouraged to make their way to the start of stage 1 early in support of their team and watch the team introductions as well as witness the start of South Africa’s first international cycling event.
LIVE coverage of the event will be screened at Montecasino on both Saturday 19th February and Sunday 20th February in the Piazza from 11am. Supporters are invited to be part of the finish celebrations on day 2 where the start and finish will culminate in the Montecasino Piazza giving fans an opportunity to wish their favourite team luck as they depart for their 156km cycle.

Start list
Team Willems Accent	Team Type 1
1 Jaco Venter	7 Fabio Calabria
2 Kevin Van Melsen	8 Willian Dugan
3 Sven Van Den Houte	9 Joseph Eldridge
4 Gregory Habeaux	10 Alexey Schmidt
5 Jean-Pierre Drucker	11 Andrew Stewart
6 Thomas Degand	12 Maarten Verschoor
Europcar	CCC Polstat
13 Giovanni Bernaudeau	19 Jacek Morajko
14 Anthony Charteau	20 Andre Schulze
15 Yohann Gene	21 Marek Rutkiewicz
16 Christophe Kern	22 Tomek Marczynski
17 Perrig Quemeneur	23 Mateusz Taciak
18 Kevin Reza	24 Tomasz Kiendys
Rapha Condor Sharp	Russia National Team
25 Dan Craven	31 Alexey Markov
26 Ben Greenwood	32 Alexander Serov
27 Jonathan Tiernan-Locke	33 Ivan Kovaliev
28 Kristian House	34 Evgeniy Kovaliev
29 Graham Briggs	35 Alexander Khatuntsev
30 Zakkari Dempster	36 Victor Schmalko
Team Burgos 2016	Team Nippo
37 Chris Jennings	43 Bernardo Riccio
38 Jacques Janse van Rensburg	44 Masaaki Kikuchi
39 Diego Gellego Arnaiz	45 Ryohei Komori
40 Luis Mas Bonet	46 Junya Sano
41 Oscar Grau Jorga	47 Davide Torosantucci
42 Francisco Manuel Anton Marin	48 Frusto Henry
UCI African Team	MTN Qhubeka
49 Daniel Teclehaimonot Girmazion	55 Reinhardt Janse van Rensburg
50 Natnael Berhene Teweldemedhin	56 Brad Potgieter
51 Misnga Okbatsion	57 Daryl Impey
52 Kebede Estifanos Gebresilassie	58 Dennis van Niekerk
53 Solomon Bitew Shiferaw	59 Arran Brown
54 Tsagabu Gebremaryam Grmay	60 Christof van Heerden
Team Bonitas	Toyota CSA
61 Malcolm Lange	67 Nicholas White
62 Neil MacDonald	68 Johann van Zyl
63 Waylon Woolcock	69 Christiaan Kriek
64 Hanco Kachelhoffer	70 Louis Meintjies
65 Johann Rabie	71 Stefan Ihlenfeldt
66 Luthando Kaka	72 JC Nel
Raiko Argon 18	360Life
73 Mathias Belka	79 David George
74 Arne Hassink	80 Kevin Evans
75 David Brown	81 Jay Thomson
76 Jan Oelerich	82 Shaun Nick Bester
77 Abdel Hannachi	83 Paul van Zweel
78 Jan Deutshman	84 Shaun Ward
Team Ruiter Dakkapellen	Team Differdange-Magic-Sportfood (CCD)
85 Leon Burger	91 Nico Schneider
86 Gijs Strating	92 Frank Dressler
87 Jos Pronk	93 Stefan Cohden
88 Berden de Vries	94 Renco Broers
89 Sierd Steigenga	95 Rudy Lesschaeve
90 Wouter Haan	96 Alex Neenhorst
Czech Republic	Morocco
97 Martin Blaha	103 Adil Velloul
98 Martin Hacecky	104 Mouhssine Lahsaini
99 Vojtech Hackeky	105 Abdelati Saadoune
100 Jiri Hochmann	106 Tarik Chaoufi
101 Milan Kadlec	107 Soufiane Haddi
102 Jan Dostal	108 Lahoon Saber
Tasol GT	DCM
109 Carl Pasio	115 Ian McLeod
110 James Perry	116 Jeremy Maartens
111 Richard Baxter	117 Pieter Seyffert
112 David Maree	118 Herman Fouche
113 Clint Hendriks	119 Darren Lill
114 Jean Spies	120 Clinton Burrows

The route for The Cell C Tour of South Africa has been revised and finalised and will now pass through the following areas:

Stage 1
Saturday 19 February: 167km – Menlyn Park Shopping Mall to Montecasino - The first race day will start in Menlyn area, passing the Union Buildings before heading north and turning west behind the Magaliesberg ridges west of Pretoria. The race travels west through the tunnel at Hartebeespoort Dam to the Cradle of Humankind passing Maropeng before heading to the Fourways area for the finish on Witkoppen.

Stage 2
Sunday 20 February: 156km – Montecasino to Montecasino – a circuit route incorporating Soweto, Soccer City, Sandton and the Johannesburg CBD.

Stage 3
Tuesday 22 February: 173km – Nelson Mandela Bay to Summer Strand– Starting at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, stage 3 heads towards the Addo Elephant National Park where one is sure to catch a few glimpses of wildlife (it is home to the Big Seven). From there the race returns to Port Elizabeth, where the route takes an interesting turn, with a city circuit, before finishing in Summer Strand on the beach front.

Stage 4
Wednesday 23 February: 153km – Bloukrans Bridge to George - Stage 4 starts on the famous Bloukrans Bridge where many bungi jump enthusiasts are sure to be found. We head from there to Natures Valley and out on the climb towards the N2. Then on to Plettenberg Bay where we include a local loop before another climb out and back on the N2 passing through Knysna. At Wilderness the race leaves the N2 and heads over 3 passes of narrow twisty roads before finishing in George.

Stage 5
Thursday 24 February: 175km – Oudtshoorn to Barrydale - The stage starts in Oudtshoorn and heads on to the famous Route 62 passing Calitzdorp and Ladismith with the finish in, Barrydale.

Stage 6
Friday 25 February: 140km – Hermanus to Stellenbosch- The penultimate stage starts in Hermanus and winds its way through Gordens Bay over Sir Lowry’s Pass into Grabouw, to Threewaterskloof Dam and up Franschhoek pass. A speedy descent follows. After passing through Franschhoek the race will head over Helshoogte Pass.

Stage 7
Saturday 26 February: 100km – Paarl to Paarl - Cycling through South Africa’s 3rd oldest town, cyclists will enjoy scenic views and historic buildings. A 10km circuit stage which will pass through the main streets of Paarl and Klein-Drakenstein finishing in Market Street.