A national cycling championship in Napier at the weekend drew interest from thousands of people around the world.
Day three of the BDO Elite Road National Championships finished yesterday with the Men's & Elite races through a 171km course in Napier.
Thousands of people took to the course throughout the three-day event to support the men's, women's and time trial races.
Another few thousand also watched from around the world via live steaming.
Napier City Council events manager Kevin Murphy said the finish-line was bustling with spectators eager to see the final sprint of the men's race yesterday.
"It was a really exciting and busy three days," he said.
"There were so many people scattered all around the course."
The live-streaming also helped to gain a wider audience with people watching from all over the country and internationally, he said.
"At one stage, just before the end of [yesterday's] race, there were nearly 3000 people watching the race live."
Spectators were able to view a fantastic quality of racing this year because they had a large contingent of professional riders in Europe come back for the race, he said.
"We had the highest calibre of cycling talent in the race [yesterday] with professional riders.
"They made the effort to come back and race this year."
Auckland resident David Parkinson happened to pass Saturday's women's race while visiting family in Hawke's Bay and had to stop to have a look because he used to be a road cyclist.
"It's good to be able to watch something I used to love, it used to be a big part of my life," he said.
Taradale resident Greg Forrest said, as an avid cyclist, he was a spectator at the event each year.
"I'm here to see good racing.
"It's a great event and well-organised. Napier should be proud."
The championship was also part of a six-day Summer Cycling Carnival which started last Friday and has a number of events including The Big Bike Film Night, Bay Espresso Winery Fun Ride, iWay Family Fun Ride and Black Barn Vineyards Criterium.