The 2019 Dis-Chem Ride for Sight will take place on February 17 with riders cycling through Ekurhuleni and the rolling grasslands of Suikerbosrand.
The event, which is in its 31st year, promises to be as popular as ever.
The event is a seeding event for the Cape Town Cycle Tour and is among the top five cycling events in the country and the second largest in Gauteng.
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Springs Wheelers Cycling Club joined in the organisation of the race by the metro, Retina South Africa, Dis-Chem Pharmacies, Hamnet Emergency Communications, ASM safety Consultants, Road Rangers, Red Cross and dozens of volunteer experts in the field or race organisation.
The metro’s roads department will ensure the best road conditions along the route.
The main event, the 116 km Super Classic, will see the cream of South African cyclists competing for the Ernest Hunt trophy and the top cash prizes.
The 62km Vita-thion challenge is a great ride for the novice or less energetic casual rider.
Around 6 000 cyclists are expected to take part, while online entries are now closed, riders still eager to participate can register at Cycle Lab in Boksburg until 2pm on February 16 or at the stadium from 5am on race day.
Over R80 000 worth of cash prizes will be awarded to the top cyclists in the racing categories and fun riders also stand a chance to win big with over R120 000 up for grabs in lucky draw prizes on the day.
All cyclists who enter the donation draw (minimum of R40) stand a chance to win special draw prizes, including a KTM road bike from Cycle Lab or a seven-night holiday for two at Michamvi Sunset Bay Resort in Zanzibar.
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All of these donations will be matched by the Dis-Chem Foundation, so the organisers are appealing to participants to donate generously.
Both events start and finish in the Boksburg City Stadium, Jubilee Road, Boksburg.
There will be traffic delays, from 5am to 2pm, in the areas around Barry Marais Road, North Boundary Road, the R23 between Heidelberg and Boksburg, the Carnival City area, the R103 in the Vosloorus area, and the Alrode, Leondale and Dawn Park areas.
The event has raised over R10-million over the past 30 years and this entire amount has been, and will continue to be, donated to research projects dedicated to finding treatments for genetic retinal blinding conditions such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP), macular degeneration (MD) and dozens of other rare and devastating forms of retinal vision loss.