2022 Road World Championships, Culture, dogs, Racing -

Meeting the four-legged friends that watched Worlds

Meeting the four-legged friends that watched Worlds

The Road World Championships saw the streets of Wollongong come abuzz with spectators. Some were lifelong cycling fans, others were just locals soaking up the good vibes.

And come the final day of racing, our four-legged friends were out for a good day in the sun. 

Let’s meet some of them and find out what brought them to the race. 

With a few laps to go Elaine could feel that the racing is heating up.

Enzo (who prefers to watch F1) is a local that was just checking that his street signs were still his. OK all good, home time. 
“Are you really at a bike race and just taking photos of dogs?” Indeed, Duncan, indeed I am.


Unfortunately for Diesel, he wasn’t able to see over the race barrier to watch the event and so instead spent most of the time working on his Insta profile, where he does some heavy influencing for some 7,300 followers. 
“But hey, at least I’m closer to the race than that Iain Treloar guy,” winked Diesel.
It was a hot day to be a Husky. Murphy is a big fan of Pavel Sivakov.
Tilly found a patch of shade and was trying to keep cool.
Fellow Border Collie Bella came by to share the shade between laps. They were both in town supporting ‘Bah’rain-Merida, unfortunately, they had herd that first part wrong
The big crowds made it tough for some of the smaller attendees to see the action.
Worlds was a place for old friends to re-unite.
Zali was dressed in the colours of New Zealand. Sadly it was a small showing for the neighbouring nation with just James Fouché in the elite men’s bunch. That said, Zali was still vibing from the previous day’s women’s U23 win by Niamh Fisher-Black.
Nixon, just living his best life.


Pepper, an Aussie Bulldog, was there to see Heinrich “Heino” Haussler. It was a big day for Pepper, although the shade was limited and much wanted. 
“Hey, are you Shoddy Dave?!” Sorry, Edie, I’m the less-funny Dave.
“Here they come,” alerted Lola as the whoosh of wheels could be heard from the crest of the hill.
“They’re going so much faster than I had expected, I’m stepping back!”


Like so many of the humans on the day, Bandon was staying well hydrated.
All ears pricked up as the riders came through once again.


Cocoa’s eyes and ears aren’t what they used to be, but she was still happy to be with the crowd at about a kilometre from the finish. It was a popular grassed spot with many friends. 

“Why are these people in my park and why is nobody throwing the ball?” It’s a good question Pucky, I wish I had answers. 
Gloria was spending some quality time with her humans that she likes to take on walks.
Gloria and a friend watch the big screen as breaks in the race begin to happen.
At just eight months old, Satchi was loving the big day out at the bike race. So. Many. Pats.
“Wollongong’s Lang Park is never this busy,” remarked Satchi.


Mimi had found herself a spot on the course with a gap between the barriers. She couldn’t believe her eyes when German rider Nikias Arndt wizzed past. The sentiment of being so close to the world’s best was shared by many.
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