Major West Rand cycling event coming soon
Calling all West Rand road cyclists and mountain bikers to compete in this year's Bestmed Berge en Dale Championship.
For several reasons, a bumper entry is expected for the Bestmed Berge en Dale Championship to be held near Krugersdorp on the West Rand on 24 and 25 February.
It is said the feature race remains the 107km road classic on the Saturday, but the organisers, ASG Events, have added an attractive complementary programme for cycling enthusiasts. Besides the main event, there will be a 59km road race as well as mountain-bike races over 40km and 15km on the Sunday.
The Berge en Dale, presented by Optimum Financial Services, starts at the Cradlestone Mall in Muldersdrift and is a seeding event for the Cape Town Cycle Tour.
However, Wynand de Villiers, ASG Events chief executive believes the overall offering is fast increasing the popularity of the event, thanks to a number of factors.
These include the date, which is three weeks later than in previous years, and the slick organisation that has evolved over the years.
“By moving the race towards the end of February, we are giving riders more time to prepare for the event after the holiday period,” said Wynand.
“We have already seen a significant increase in the number of entries.”
A year ago, when the race was held during the first weekend of February, about 4 500 riders entered. This time, because of the later date and the growing popularity of the mountain-bike races, Wynand expects the number to rise.
The organisation of the Berge en Dale had always been at a high level, with everything being done to secure the safety of the riders, he said.
“In the past 14 years, our team of organisers has remained largely unchanged, and these people are undoubtedly the best in the business when it comes to carrying out their specific roles.”
Wynand also believes economic factors are having an influence. Cyclists tend to enter more readily for races in their own regions.
“One cannot overlook the fact that it’s not easy to travel long distances to take part in certain events,” Wynand said.
“I feel we’ll see people focusing more on local races, for simple economic reasons. It is a big outlay to travel with your family from, say, Gauteng to an event such as the Cape Town Cycle Tour.”
External factors could also make people look at other options. Last year’s Cape Town Cycle Tour was cancelled soon after the start because of extremely strong winds. Wynand also pointed out the “wonderful partnerships” they had built up with their sponsors, Bestmed, and the race hosts, Cradlestone Mall.
“Bestmed has been involved with a number of events for 14 years, and continues to be committed to the support of cycling in the country. Cradlestone Mall has been on board in the last three years and has really pulled its weight as the event kept growing. They have done everything they can to ensure the start and finish venue remains user-friendly for the cyclists. There’s ample parking space to prevent traffic jams before and after the race.”
Let the Herald know if you are a Randfontein cyclist taking part in the race by emailing us at randfonteinherald@caxton.co.za.
For more information or to enter, visit https://www.asgevents.co.za.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at randfonteinherald@caxton.co.za (please remember to include your contact details in the email) or phone us on 011 693 3671.
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