It is time again for cyclists to take on the Emperors Palace Classic Cycle Tour to be held at Emperors Palace this weekend.<\/p>\n
With the cyclists facing a route unchanged from last year, ASG Events race director, Darren Herbst, is anticipating a thrilling finish to the road race.<\/p>
The two-day cycling festival will provide cyclists with a choice selection of events, including two mountain bike offerings on Saturday (April 22) and two road races on Sunday (April 23).<\/p>\n
The feature event will be the 98km road race, which will be contested on the same route that was set up for the first time for last year\u2019s event.<\/p>
Due to the constantly increasing number of entries, the organisers felt they needed to make some route changes, which were implemented last year.<\/p>\n
Herbst said the new route had proved a success.<\/p>\n
\u201cRider feedback on the road race route was good and the course will serve the event well for the foreseeable future,\u201d said Herbst.<\/p>\n
He assured riders that the character of the race remained the same.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe road routes are flat and fast with good surfaces throughout and riders can look forward to a relatively smooth experience,\u201d said Herbst.<\/p>\n
In addition to the flowing nature of the route, Herbst said there were no serious climbs to significantly inhibit the speed of participants.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are some undulations, but we have found over the years that the 98km route provides something for the fast guys,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt does make for an exciting last stretch and the final kilometre is slightly uphill, so it lends itself to a great sprint finish.\u201d<\/p>\n
Herbst said they had introduced some changes to the 48km road race.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason for the change is multi-fold, with the security of the riders always our top priority,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter sitting down with Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD), as well as our safety and security, we made a joint call to adopt a route which is similar to the longer route.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes it much safer and the changes do not detract from the route at all and will still provide the riders with a good test.\u201d<\/p>\n
Herbst added that the new route, coupled with improved safety measures such as warning signage and more than 250 marshals and 150 traffic officers, created peace of mind for the organisers and participants.<\/p>\n
Saturday will be occupied by the mountain bike events, which will cover distances of 50km and 25km.<\/p>\n
The longer distance will see the riders cover two laps of the 25km loop.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mountain bike routes are packed with single-track and some fun jumps and berms, so we feel it will be a fun day out for the riders,\u201d said Herbst.<\/p>\n
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