Cyclists training for the prestigious Cape Town Cycle Tour were joined by a speeding ostrich. Oleksiy Mishchenko captured the precious footage on his head cam. The clip has gone viral globally and has received over a million views on YouTube already.
Cyclists training on Cape Town’s roads are joined by an ostrich on 5 March 2016. (Image: Screengrab via Youtube, Oleksiy Mishchenko, Viralhog)
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Priya Pitamber
When a group of cyclists took to the streets of the Mother City to train for the Cape Town Cycle Tour, held on 6 March, they saw more than they bargained for when an ostrich decided to join them.
Filmed by cyclist Oleksiy Mishchenko on 5 March, equipped with a head cam, the footage has already gone viral and has racked up over a million views on YouTube.
“The road by the ocean side was quiet and a little deserted,” described Mishchenko about the road conditions.
He spotted the ostrich, which gave chase to his friends. He admitted he was scared at first, but then he thought he was going to fall off his bike with laughter.
“The ostrich didn’t have any problem to keep up at 50km/h and apparently they do 70km/h with no sweat,” he wrote.
“Luckily the creature decided to leave us alone, as we were running out of road.”
Watch the hilarious clip:
Canadian Cycling Magazine noted this was not the first time animals and cyclists had met on the road. “At last year’s Tour de France, Warren Barguil of Giant-Alpecin was one of several cyclists who threaded through the unanticipated obstacle of a herd of cows,” its website reads http://cyclingmagazine.ca/sections/news/cyclists-in-south-africa-embark-on-the-training-ride-of-all-time-thanks-to-an-ostrich/. “Horses, too, have proven themselves avid followers of the pro peloton – literally, like at the Tour de Suisse or the 1997 Critérium International.”
Amused viewers tweeted their comments:
Ostrich thinks he’s a cyclist! He just wants to be one of the gang.. #ConfusedIdentity #OnlyInSA #LoveSouthAfrica https://t.co/en9bykadrz
— Riverlodge Cape Town (@CapeRiverlodge) March 7, 2016
The ostrich was angry because the cyclist cut it off a few kilometers back #TheProjectTV
— #TheProjectTV (@theprojecttv) March 7, 2016
I just watched a video of an ostrich chasing a cyclist.. I cry laughed
— Stacey (@_staceystewart) March 6, 2016
#Cyclist chased by #Ostrich! That would certainly make me pedal faster! https://t.co/C0FEjNtVMh
— Lucy (@lil_lucy_d) March 5, 2016
