Berge en Dale acid test for SA road champs
According to the race director, the stage would be set for some top-flight racing action.
South Africa’s top pro cycling teams will face an acid test ahead of the national road championships when they square off at the Action Ford Berge en Dale Classic in Muldersdrift on 31 January.
The 102km feature race, which is powered by Optimum Financial Services, will follow an undulating route that starts at Cradlestone Mall and takes in the area around the Sterkfontein Caves and Cradle of Humankind.
Billed as the West Rand’s biggest cycle race, it will be the last chance for the elites to check out the competition before the national champs in Mbombela (Nelspruit) in Mpumalanga the following week.
According to race director Wynand de Villiers of ASG Events, the stage would be set for some top-flight racing action.
“This is the final dress rehearsal for all the teams leading up to the SAs, so it’s going to be tough,” he said.
Wynand said, unlike many classics, the route offers something for both climbers and sprinters.
“There’s quite a bit of climbing and a long uphill drag to the finishing sprint. The pure sprinters don’t have it all their own way, as there’s a lot of brute power required to get up the hill first.”
He said an all-rounder with a good finishing kick would be most likely to succeed.
“Aside from Hillsnacks at the beginning of the race, there’s a long ascent past the Valverde Eco Hotel, around 10 kilometres from the finish, that presents an opportunity for the climbers to attack.”
Last year, the African contingent of the MTN-Qhubeka feeder team that is based in Potchefstroom, dominated the podium.
“They’re such a wonderful attacking squad and it’s always a privilege to have them at the event,” said Wynand.
news journalist Jacobus Myburgh will be covering the event.
