Pretoria boasts a brand-new National Classic road cycling race following the recent announcement of the inaugural staging of the Tshwane Diamond Classic on 26 May this year.
The Diamond Classic offers 110km and 50km route options which start and finish at the Baviaanspoort Correctional Facility north-east of the city.
The race is presented by Hectic Promotions (NPC), the company that also organises the big Tshwane Classic, as well as the Bestmed Cycle4CANSA, presented by the Optimum Group at Sun City.
The Cullinan area, which is part of the Tshwane Metro, represent the perfect route option for a mass participation road cycling event with delightfully quiet roads with good road surfaces, and it’s all very adjacent to Pretoria.
“The Diamond Classic has been in the making for a while now and by utilising the organising infrastructure of our company and our current good standing and relationships with the Tshwane Metro we will create a safe cycling environment,” said Hectic Promotions director Mauritz Meyer.
Baviaanspoort Correctional Facility presents ample parking, lots of shade, neat ablutions and impressive catering facilities – all crucial elements for accommodating a mass participation cycling event.
Meyer said the date of the event, 26 May, falls within a wonderful climate time on the Highveld when Fall temperatures are mild and the chances of rain slim, ensuring that the race optimises the potential participant base.
He believes the traction of the Tshwane Diamond Classic is locked into the delightful and quiet Sunday morning road conditions around Cullinan, Rayton and Bronkhorstspruit, as well as the Tshwane Metro’s support and the race’s vicinity to the major cycling catchment area represented by Johannesburg and Pretoria.
The 110km route presents 1030 metres of elevation gain and is mildly undulating, except for a sharp climb on the outskirts of Cullinan at the Petra Diamond Mine up to the 18km mark, which is set to stretch the bunches early on.
The route starts on Zambezi Drive (R513) towards Cullinan from the Baviaanspoort Correctional Facility and runs from Cullinan towards Rayton and Bronkhorstspruit.
From Bronkhortspruit it loops back to Cullinan anti-clockwise to ensure predominantly left turns and then does a final loop around Cullinan before joining up with Zambezi Drive again to finish in the opposite direction to the start.
The 50km route presents 561metres of vertical ascent and cuts out the long-distance loop towards Bronkhorstspruit and back.
A kids’ race (3-4-year-olds and 5-7-year-olds) and 5km fun walk for the entire family is presented in conjunction with the road race inside the grounds of the Baviaanspoort Correctional Facility. Participants can enter on the morning at the Rugby Stadium Race Office for a R10 donation towards the upkeep of the facility.
The event will start at 07:00 and the kids race and 5km fun walk will start at 08:00.
The event caters for all categories of licensed CSA cyclists as well as open/seeded riders. Riders will be seeded in bunches according to the Cycle Events National Seeding Ladder.
More information and entries: www.cycleevents.co.za To access the 110km Strava Route go to https://www.strava.com/routes/16875005 To access the 50km Strava Route go to https://www.strava.com/routes/16874877
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