Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Cyclists get in the saddle for 2016 Tour
MTB Challenge a precursor for road race
CYCLING enthusiasts have less than a fortnight before they line up on on Hertzog Boulevard for the world’s largest timed cycle race, the 39th annual Cape Town Cycle Tour, on Sunday March 6.
But there’s also plenty of off-road action planned for next weekend, with the MTB Challenge taking place at Le Bonheur Wine Estate off the R44 in Stellenbosch on Saturday and Sunday, according to Tour director David Bellairs.
And fires are top priority this year, with the routes for both races potentially affected.
Bellairs said he was cognisant of the fires that often raged in and around Stellenbosch in January, affecting farms in the Greater Simonsberg Conservancy, through which the MTB Challenge traditionally passes.
“The Cape Town Cycle Tour Trust works closely with the City of Cape Town, Emergency Services and Disaster Management each year in the development of contingency plans and the management of last year’s last-minute route change due to fires attests to the effectiveness of these plans,” he said.
Close to 5 000 cyclists will take part in the 20km, 30km, 40km and 55km routes next weekend.
“While Boschendal, where the race was held previously was fantastic, we believe Le Bonheur offers cyclists a superb experience, with Klapmuts Mountain being a stone’s throw away from the starting line,” Bellairs said.
He lauded trail builder Meurant Botha of Dirtopia for crafting this year’s route to include new scenic and shady areas for riders.
Next after the MTB is the Cape Town Cycle Tour Expo, which is expected to attract between 60 000 and 80 000 visitors between March 3 and 5 at its new venue at the Cape Town Stadium.
Bellairs said the expo had been held at the Good Hope Centre for the past 18 years, but the switch became necessary after city authorities decided that venue be used by the film industry instead.
This year the expo will see more than 400 exhibitors set to showcase products.
Visitors will also be able to register for the race, and purchase top of-the range road and mountain bikes and cycling gear, among other things.
Always highly anticipated is the Junior Cycle and Bellairs said more than 3 500 children aged from 2 to 12 were expected on that start line, at the Youngsfield Military Base in Wynberg, on March 5.
“Ultimately, in years to come, we would like to cen- tralise all events to the Cape Town Stadium,” Bellairs said, adding that Youngsfield was, however, a great venue for the children because of its various safety factors, including minimal traffic.
For the big day, on March 6, Bellairs said a dedicated team had been assembled to sweep the entire 109km route afterwards. More than 150 people from disadvantaged communities will clear the more than 16 000kg of rubbish generated by the 35 000 participants and spectators.
“Close to 85 percent of the more than 35 000 entrants this year are environmentally friendly (they practise recycling), and 97 percent of the waste garnered during the race is recycled.”
Last year the 109km route was shortened to 47km after widespread fires caused damage along the route.
Bellairs said they took care of the huge number of participants thanks to 3 000 personnel working as a “joint operations centre”.
Bellairs rode the 109km scenic route two weeks ago: “It’s a public road and cyclists must realise it contains indentations and manhole covers, as well as roadworks,” he warned, adding that his calculations put official descents totalling 1 220m.
“There are more than 5 000 cat’s eye covers on the descents, with 2 500 of them having been replaced this year.”
● Entry to the expo is R40 for non-riders and free for children younger than 12. Registered cyclists get in free with their RaceTec Chip.
mika.williams@inl.co.za