Following the cancellation of the Cape Town Cycle Tour due to heavy winds last month, ASG Events race director Darren Herbst is anticipating another bumper crop of entries for the Emperors Palace Classic Cycle Tour.<\/p>\n
The event is set to take place on April 22 and 23 at Emperors Palace.<\/p>
\u201cBecause of what happened in Cape Town last month, with the race being cancelled, we are finding that many riders who put in a lot of training for the event are now looking for an outlet,\u201d said Herbst.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe many will take this opportunity to make up for losing out and, therefore, we are expecting another good turnout.\u201d<\/p>
In addition, Herbst is pleased that Emperors is again rated as a premier seeding event for the Cape Town Cycle Tour, which he believes will bring even more riders to the Kempton Park casino resort for the 98km feature race.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat rating definitely adds something and it proves what a quality event it has become,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
With the classic cycle race celebrating its 10th anniversary, Herbst said they felt they had a winning formula and would not be introducing any major changes.<\/p>\n
He also said they have, however, beefed up their marshalling and would be working closely with the road rangers and metro officials to ensure everything runs smoothly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe feel the success of the previous events guides us in the way forward and we will carry on as usual,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have more entries every year and the roads also get a bit busier so we always need to make sure we have plans in place to manage that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Emperors Palace Classic starts off with 25km and 50km mountain bike events on the Saturday and culminates in 48km and 98km road races on the Sunday.<\/p>\n
Herbst also added that the mountain bike races played an important part in the overall package.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a big emphasis on the mountain bike races,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe entries for these events are limited because of the loop structure that we have in place.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are very popular and the entries fill up quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n
The event also caters for children aged between three and five and six to eight, with the Emperors Palace Kids Classic taking place on the Sunday.<\/p>\n
The closing date for entries for the two-day festival is Monday (April 10).<\/p>\n
To enter or for more information visit www.emperorsclassic.co.za.<\/p>\n
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