Cape Town - The infamous Borat mankini was to blame for the rule that has led to the ban of a near-naked city cyclist.
Steve Newman rode the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour wearing a jockstrap and a red plastic rhino horn over his genitals and has since been banned for a year.
Dave Bellairs, director of the Cycle Tour, said: “Our contestation is that he was aware of the rules, as he started in normal clothes, and changed after that. We introduced a rule which says you have to be dressed appropriately, and we specifically warned people that we riders must be sure to cover up – in keeping with a family event.”
The organisers sent Newman a letter warning that he would be banned if he could not prove he did not know this rule. He did not respond.
In response, Newman told Cape Talk there was no difference between his buttocks on display, and those of women modelling underwear on billboards across the city.
“I did purposely cover up on the front,” he told John Maytham.
Earlier this year, Newman ran down Kloof Nek road in a spoof of the skateboarder who sped down the hill setting off traffic cameras. As with his naked skydiving and Cycle Tour stunt, he said he was raising awareness about rhino poaching.
Cape Argus