Joburg Classic Route best in the West

“The Joburg Cycle Classic constitutes the best route that I have designed on the West Rand.”

That’s the message from seasoned Hectic Promotions route specialist Patrick Smit to entrants ahead of the inaugural Joburg Classic, which takes place in Lanseria on 29 March.

Smit is a well-known figure in Gauteng-based road racing. He is not only involved with route planning; he has vast experience in route control and marshalling spanning more than 25 years.

He has worked on the Berge & Dale Classic, Krugersdorp Classic, Satellite Classic and Dome2Dome – events that have formed part of the West Rand landscape over the past two decades.

Over this time, he has been the principal of a core team of experienced marshals from Pretoria West who have marshalled most major road races in Gauteng.

“Joburg Classic is different because of the balance and the tempered challenge it provides cyclists. There aren’t any senseless, silly climbs. For lack of a better analogy; it’s like comparing Sani2C to the Cape Epic. It’s a delightfully forgiving route, but still poses a strong autumn challenge for cyclists.

“Notably it cuts out the Krugersdorp Ridge, which brings down the total ascent quite nicely. Krugersdorp Ridge really is such an unnecessary ascent, whether you do it past Silvestar Casino (Hillsnacks) or past Sterkfontein Hospital – either way the rewards aren’t worth the effort. The major climbs in the Joburg Classic are lengthy but mild, and cyclists can stay in a nice rhythm. The two major obstacles are the climb on the Hekpoort Road towards Maropeng, and the rise past Valverde in the final 10km.

The Joburg Classic is the City of Gold’s brand-new mass participation race in the first half of the season. The crew at Hectic Promotions have been hard at work preparing the offering for the day.

“Nobody else seems to be launching new road events, but this is our passion and it’s so refreshing to work on a new race and offer cyclists a new experience,” race organiser, Mauritz Meyer said.

Meyer felt that the need had arisen for Joburg to host its own mass-participation race in the first half of the season as a result of the dwindling numbers of Gauteng participants in the Cape Town Cycle Tour.

The venue for the Joburg Classic is the entertaining GOG Lifestyle Park just off Malibongwe Drive in Lanseria, and the route offers distances over 95km, 45km and 20km. The signature 95km distance offers a well-balanced route with 1 100 metres of vertical ascent.

GOG Lifestyle Park presents ample parking, ablutions and catering facilities to accommodate a mass-participation cycling event. It also boasts a wide array of adventure activities, which will keep families entertained throughout the day. Riders and families receive free entry into the park.

The starting times for these distances have been worked out so that the short-distance riders join after the fast groups in the 95km at the joining points.

For more information and entries, visit https://www.hecticpromotions.co.za.