Berge en Dale continues with prime cycling calendar slot
In addition to the feature race, there will be a 60km distance on offer.
For two decades, the Takealot Berge en Dale has been a prime event on South Africa’s road cycling calendar and the 20th edition promises to be no different.
Under new sponsors, Takealot.com, and with a new venue in Silverstar Casino, the race organisers, ASG Events, are anticipating a surge of interest before entries close on 13 February. With the 108km distance proving highly popular, ASG Events chief executive Erick Oosthuizen said they were anticipating another huge entry.
“We are pretty much at the total number of entries we had at the same stage last year, but there is definitely space for more cyclists and we are looking at a really sizeable entry once the deadline comes,” he said. He added that the offering had increased in popularity over the years, having started as a race of just 30km in the inaugural edition. “Since then it has grown in distance and stature to become one of Johannesburg’s toughest road races,” he said.
“We believe the date for the race is perfectly positioned on the cycling calendar, because it provides a big incentive for riders to get back into shape after the festive break.” The Berge en Dale is a premier seeding event for the Cape Town Cycle Tour, but Erick said he had no doubt it could stand on its own as one of the country’s road classics.
It might serve as preparation for the Cape Town Cycle Tour, but more and more riders are seeing the Takealot Berge en Dale as the highlight on their cycling calendar. “We believe cyclists are doing fewer events these days and are starting, more and more, to cherry-pick their races. The months of January and February in Johannesburg have produced many quality races in the past 20 years and we believe we are one of them.”
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