The Cape Town Cycle Tour is still scheduled to take place on Sunday as planned and will not be called off due to forecast adverse weather conditions, race director David Bellairs confirmed today.
Rumours have been doing the rounds that the race might be cancelled due to extreme winds, which aborted the event in 2017.
Cyclists at the start line during a previous year’s Cape Town Cycle Tour. Photo: Cindy Taylor
“There’s no talk of cancellation at the moment,” Bellairs said. “The stories that have been doing the rounds have been taken from statements and taken completely out of context.
“We had a meeting today with the joint operations team and it suffices to say we’re monitoring the situation.
“There is going to be wind on Sunday, but not worse than what we had in 2009 and 2010 when we ran two very successful Cycle Tours.”
Bellairs said they would take precautions beforehand and meet again tomorrow to assess the predicted conditions on race day.
“We’re monitoring a number of weather sites around South Africa.
“And what we are doing is making sure the infrastructure on the routes is sufficiently battened down so it can stand up to whatever is thrown at it.
“We’ll remove anything that poses a threat to our participants.”
He added that wind could normally be expected in Cape Town, with a south-easter prone to “visit us occasionally”.
“For those who aren’t accustomed to the wind, you need to be aware that it is going to be blowing anywhere between 25 and 45km/h at different points.
“So use the bunches and stay together. That can keep you out of trouble. When you’re heading down from the top of Suikerbossie, where the wind can take you from the side, you should use the entire road.
“The only area you need to be careful of is the rumble strips, which is shortly after the top of the ascent of Suikerbossie.”
The race team is set to meet again tomorrow afternoon to provide an update on proceedings.
