What happened to the thousands of rands in entry fees that Wynand de Villiers of De Villiers National Cycling collected over the past few months?

De Villiers is in the crossfire for failed music concerts and now also cancelled cycling races.

Cyclists have entered in their hundreds for various races after De Villiers lured them in with tempting offers.

Entry fees, such as for the Tour du Cap, have been dramatically reduced to attract cyclists.

De Villiers boasted that 300 participants have already entered, many from overseas.

While unsuspecting cyclists thought they were getting a bargain, De Villiers probably knew the races would not take place.

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Club members, including those from the Middelburg Cycling Club, encouraged each other to take advantage of the reduced entries.

De Villiers’ cellphone is off and his social media pages are closed.

During an interview with the Middelburg Observer four weeks ago, he said ‘cycling is his passion and that he will always be involved in it’.

He then boasted that the Montecasino and Emperors Palace races attracted a large number of entries.

He has been involved in the sport for the past 24 years after first working as a sports journalist at the Beeld newspaper.
De Villiers sent an email to the Boland 100 Miler and Tour du Cap participants on Thursday to let them know that the races are no longer taking place.

So far, nothing has been said about the Montecasino Classico, which was due to take place on October 12, and the Emperors Palace on November 2.

Because De Villiers National Cycling has been liquidated, these races will probably also no longer take place.

The Boland Miler’s entry fee was R695. If only 500 cyclists have already entered, there is R347 500 involved.

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The Emperors’ race has two distances, a 98km at R570 and a 48km for R350. If only 500 cyclists have entered for the 98km, there is R285 000 that De Villiers has collected.

The Montecasino was due to take place on October 12 over distances of 90km and 50km at R630 and R450. That’s R315 000 or more that cyclists have lost.

If there were 300 cyclists who entered the Tour du Cap, they collectively lost R570 000.

R1 517 500 million that the cycling community and certainly other service providers lost due to De Villiers’ actions.

It is clear that De Villiers left behind broken promises and broken hearts.

The controversial businessman clearly did not only cause a false note in the music industry but also left cyclists with flat tyres…