THIS year’s Tsogo Sun Amashova Durban Classic official launch revealed a number of exciting initiatives and developments for this year’s race.
The Beverly Hills Hotel played host to an event that saw cycling royalty, sponsors, key stakeholders and media soak up the exciting announcements – despite the chilly winter weather.
“Riding for a cause has always been an important part of the Tsogo Sun Amashova, but this year the ‘Spirit of Shova’ is being taken to another level. We are so excited at being part of the GivenGain platform which has officially partnered with the Tsogo Sun Amashova in order to take ‘riding for a cause’ to new heights. We are anticipating a substantial amount of funds being raised this year as individual riders, charities and corporates join forces to ride for worthy causes,” said race director, Annie Batchelder.
Read also: Local girls shine at wheelchair champs
The Amashova Durban Classic has always encouraged participating riders to ‘ride for a cause’ and to date organisations such as CHOC, MadeForMore, Hero777, The Bible Society, Hospice and CANSA have successfully used the race as a platform to raise funds.
Charity participation has continued to grow, which is why the race organisers decided that enlisting the help of GivenGain, a globally recognised digital donation platform, to streamline the donation process was a logical next step.
Apart from the feel good factor of this growing race, the Amashova organisers also announced several other firsts they have up their sleeve to ensure a great race day for participants and spectators alike. This year marks the inaugural relay race on the 160km route where teams of two riders can race the new longer distance introduced last year, with the changeover point being at the 65km start in Cato Ridge.
“The relay is a great opportunity for cyclists who would like to participate in a team event that involves a challenging distance and route with complete road closure. We are constantly looking for ways to introduce new ideas that would add value to our cyclists,” explained Batchelder.
In an exciting move for the pro cyclists, the elite men’s race has been moved to the challenging 160km route – making it one of the only major cycling races in SA to offer a competitive race over this extensive distance. For the elite women cyclists, Batchelder was proud to announce at the launch event that also for the first time in the race’s history, male and female winners will win equal prize money.
For more from Northglen News follow us on Facebook or Twitter. You can also follow us on Instagram
