{"id":86226,"date":"2015-04-21T11:06:00","date_gmt":"2015-04-21T09:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/86226\/emperors-palace-classic-a-true-success\/"},"modified":"2015-04-21T11:05:07","modified_gmt":"2015-04-21T09:05:07","slug":"emperors-palace-classic-a-true-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/sports-news\/2015\/04\/21\/emperors-palace-classic-a-true-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Emperors Palace Classic a true success"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gauteng cyclist flocked to Emperors Palace to take part in the eighth instalment of the Emperors Palace Classic on Saturday and Sunday.<\/p>\n

Billed as \u201cThe race of dreams\u201d, it included both road riders and mountain bikers.<\/p>

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The event started with the 20km and 40km off-road races on the Saturday, followed by the 50km and 102km road races on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Sunday included the ever-popular Emperors Palace Children\u2019s Classic, which catered for youngsters aged between two and eight.<\/p>

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The Circuit Spectacular again brought the curtain down on the weekend\u2019s racing programme.<\/p>\n

Supporters witnessed top-class, European-style racing as promised by organiser Wynand de Villiers, of ASG Events.<\/p>\n

This year the Circuit Spectacular and the children\u2019s races were moved to a more visible and accessible spot, which allowed spectators to get in on the action.<\/p>\n

Once again riders got the experience and excitement of riding in the shadow of the aircraft on the grounds of OR Tambo International Airport.<\/p>\n

Former national road champion Christoff van Heerden, of Kitchen Bar, won the Emperors Palace Mountain Bike Classic, that was held on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Herman Fouch\u00e9\u201a took his second Emperors Palace Classic road race title on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Ryan Gibbons was just a second behind Fouch\u00e9\u201a with Tyler Day a further second back.<\/p>\n

The country\u2019s top sprinters made a show in the Emperors Palace Circuit Spectacular Criterium, later in the day.<\/p>\n

Westvaal\u2019s Ryan Felgate (19) took victory in the Circuit Spectacular, saying: \u201cRacing is always hard and we had one of the best riders here, but I like this kind of racing and I am always up for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just had to be careful at the bends, but other than that it was good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van Heerden claimed the runner-up spot, while junior rider, Alex Parsons, of Team Giant, concluded the podium positions.<\/p>\n