Continental’s first Herald
Continental Tyre South Africa (CTSA) concluded its first event as the joint title sponsor of The Herald Continental Cycle Tour with record levels of participation across all races.
A total of 3 045 riders competed in the 2017 Cycle Tour, which introduced a new format for the 32nd edition with the action split over two weekends for the first time - a popular move that allowed cyclists to compete in multiple events, including the mountain bike, team relay and road races.
Continental's presence was highly visible throughout, not only with the extensive branding, but also with a large marquee which was erected at the Addo MTB race, and then moved to the superb new Pollok Beach Race Village for the road race weekend. The interactive display showcased Continental’s cutting-edge, awardwinning tyre range spanning all categories of cycling, motorcycles, cars and 4x4s.
“This year’s Herald Continental Cycle Tour was immensely successful, and we congratulate the entire organising team, The Herald and Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality for making this a truly world-class event,” said Shaun Uys, managing director of Continental Tyre South Africa.
The mountain bike challenge saw a 12% year-on-year increase in entries. The weather failed to curb the enthusiastic spirit of the competitors, who took on 30km, 60km and the extreme 80km races – with the two longer distance events requiring last-minute changes to the routes due to heavy rainfall in the area.
The main road races, featuring the 55km and tough 106km distances, were played out with over 1 200 cyclists taking on variable weather conditions on Sunday 26 February.
There was fierce competition for the men’s and women's titles, along with the fight for the prestigious Ultimate Quest Challenge for the fastest combined times for riders completing the 80km Extreme MTB race as well as the 106km Classic road race. Grahamstown’s Jason Meaton was the Men’s winner of the Ultimate Quest in a combined time of 6 hours 4 minutes 17 seconds, while Anriette Schoeman won the women’s section in 6:29:00.
This year’s Herald Continental Cycle Tour was immensely successful, and we congratulate the entire organising team, The Herald and Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality for making this a truly world-class event