The small town of Wartburg are bracing themselves to host the biggest road cycling event as riders from 30 different African nations are set to take part in the Confederation of African Cycling (CAC) Road Championships in Pietermaritzburg next week.
Africa’s Bike City and the small town of Wartburg will play host to the continents best road cyclists at the Confederation of African Cycling (CAC) Continental Road Championships. Photo: Anthony Grote/Gameplan Media
The event will carry extra significance as riders will be competing for the 2015 CAC road titles as well as Olympic qualification points.
Cycling South Africa (Cycling SA) has made no bones about their desire to win the overall team standings, and clinch with it three places at the Rio Games, while the next four ranked African countries secure two Olympic berths.
Cycling SA General Manager Mike Bradley highlighted the CAC Road Champs as a rare opportunity for the elite South African athletes to accumulate the vital Olympic qualification points, as many of them don’t get that chance on the major international tour events.
“There are 22 teams, plus a few Wildcard teams, that participate in the top-tier World Tour events, where they have the opportunity to earn Olympic qualification points at all the events,” explained Bradley.
The road cycling fever continues in South Africa as the focus switches from the South African national championships that wrap up in Mbombela on the weekend to the continental showpiece in KwaZulu-Natal.
“However for many elite road cyclists committed to qualifying for the Olympic Games, there are far fewer opportunities to earn those Olympic qualification points, so events like the CAC Road Championships become very important indeed.”
The toughest competition will come from the well-oiled road stars from Eritrea, Rwanda, Algeria and Morocco.
