With a strong culture of safety, Volvo Cars will have an opportunity to display their brand’s many features at the TransCape mountain bike race next year after coming on board as the official vehicle partners.
Michelle Naudé, marketing and communications director at Volvo Cars South Africa, said they were delighted with the chance to show how their vehicle and safety aspects tied in with a cycling lifestyle.
Volvo Cars South Africa are the official vehicle partners for the TransCape MTB taking place in February next year. Photo: Supplied
She said City Safety, Volvo’s collection of supplementary safety features, included the world-first cyclist detection system.
Standard on the all-new Volvo XC90 and optional on other models, the feature allows the vehicle to detect cyclists and apply preventative braking autonomously to avoid collisions or reduce the severity of impacts.
“We want to team up with a partner which shares our values and TransCape ticks all the boxes,” she said.
Naude added that the nature of cycling was a strong focus for the company.
“Volvo are the most human-centric car brand and our target market consists of progressive people who care about others and appreciate a life of adventure and simplicity.”
The Pretoria-based company have committed themselves to the 2017 tour, but Naude said they were already considering extending the partnership to “two to three years”.
She added they were looking forward to interacting with the cyclists.
“It is a unique opportunity to get to know them and to share our passion for our brand, demonstrate our fabulous features and show just how well we suit the mountain biking adventure lifestyle.”
ASG Events chief executive Wynand de Villiers said full-service aspect of the TransCape underlined the importance of support vehicles in the form of 12 Volvo XC90s.
“Transporting riders is a critical part of the race and they will be taken from the finish areas and race villages to their hotels and guest houses, and back again, on a daily basis. They will be riding in style.”
ASG Events announced earlier this month that they had acquired a controlling stake in the 675 km event.
De Villiers said it now formed part of their repertoire of partnership events, which include the Bestmed Tour of Good Hope, Liberty Encounter Series and Sanlam MTB Invitational.
Entries are limited to 130 riders and each participant stands a chance of winning a Volvo bike carrier valued at R10 000.
Starting in Knysna on February 5 next year, the race takes in the Garden Route, Klein Karoo, Overberg and Winelands regions en route to the finish in Franschhoek.
For more info, go to www.transcapemtb.co.za.
