The organizers point the finger at the Tshwane Metro’s traffic department, the MMC for Community Safety says the race was never approved in the first place and meanwhile there are hundreds of disappointed – in some cases even angry – cyclists who are the victims of this debacle, after the annual Tshwane Classic cycle race was cancelled at the eleventh-hour this past weekend.

According to Mauritz Meyer from Hectic Promotions, they and Cycling Gauteng North were brought under the false impression on Friday morning that the disputes had been sorted out.

He admits that there were problems with the involvement of the Metro Police. Hectic Promotions was apparently unhappy about a bill of R1.6 million they received to get 175 traffic officers involved in regulating traffic and barricading streets on Sunday, the day of the race.

According to Meyer, this amount was unfair and their own research showed that the work could be done by roughly 30 officers. He admitted that this issue had delayed the final approval for the race, but he said the matter had been sorted by Friday morning.

@CityTshwane there are accusations being made that the #TshwaneClassic was cancelled 5 hours before the start due to your actions. I suspect this is not the case. People paid to travel and for accommodation. Please enlighten us as to what happened. @carteblanchetv pic.twitter.com/krz4UKNvum

— Michael (@mikeln1972) November 6, 2022

Meyer told Rekord that they have always tried to make cycling races as affordable as possible for participants.

“In the meantime, however, we have several other costs that must be covered. For example, we have already paid for the timekeepers, temporary toilet provider as well as numbers and medals for participants. We have therefore asked the Metro to make available traffic officers who would be on duty in any case, but they persisted with their astronomical bill for the service,” he explained.

According to Meyer, he and Dawid Labuschagne from Cycling Gauteng North called an emergency meeting with the relevant management of the Metro Police on Friday to sort out the matter.

BATHONG LENA!!! 😱

Di 🤡Sorokiski🤡 tsa #TshwaneClassic a di fele 👏🏽shwemmm!!! pic.twitter.com/nuymmVb44I

— Br⭕adcasting🎙️Cyclist🚴🏾‍♂️ (@MaverickMpya) November 6, 2022

“The politicians, namely MMC Theunissen’s office, were also supposed to be present. But they were late, because the meeting was moved at the last minute by one of the senior managers at the Metro Police to a venue at the show grounds in Pretoria West. We were then informed that everything was in order and that we could continue,” Meyer pointed out, although he admitted that they had not received anything in writing.

However, he wants to know who told the several Metro policemen who did arrive for duty at the Voortrekker Monument on Sunday morning to go to work.

“It’s clear something was wrong, because the men who did show up for duty were just like us under the impression that the problems had been sorted out and the race could continue,” he remarked.

By Saturday it became clear that there was no permission for the race and the organizers in collaboration with Cycling SA hastily started to let all the registered cyclists know that it was going to be cancelled. However, a few hundred cyclists did not get the news in time and arrived early Sunday morning at the start next to the Voortrekker Monument.

In an official statement, Grandi Theunissen, MMC for Community Safety, insists that no one has or could have cancelled the bike race at the last minute, as it was never approved in the first place.

In other news, Tshwane Classic… Hai, @lungilemeso has always been right about the organisers seemingly pic.twitter.com/T9UCnc6GrP

— Sammy (@_SammySA) November 6, 2022

“The city had been in constant communication with the organisers through the Events Joint Operations committee (JOC) and the Tshwane Metro police Department. Inaction and inability on the organisers’ part to comply with regulations and requirements, specifically those set out in the Safety and Sports and Recreational Events Act. (Act 2 of 2010), left the city with no other choice than to withhold approval. Approval was thus not withdrawn as alleged; it was never given,” writes Theunissen in his statement.

Theunissen said the city regrets the events of Sunday morning, but that the organizers simply did not meet the requirements, despite efforts to appease them until the very end.

He further mentions that his department, as well as the JOC, has a responsibility to take the city’s “financial challenges” into account and that it is not possible for the city council to “absorb” costs from outside organizations in cases like this.

In the meantime, it is not clear whether Hectic Promotions will be able to refund the approximately 3,000 cyclists who signed up for the race.

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