The 2019 edition of the Tour of Good Hope may only have ended just over a month ago, but cyclists can already book their place in next year’s event with entries now open.
South Africa’s premier road classic in the Cape Winelands, won by national U23 champion Marc Pritzen, will take place from March 2 to 6 and race organisers ASG Events are already planning a top-quality event.
An interesting development, said ASG chief executive Erick Oosthuizen, was that former Springbok rugby players John Smit, Breyton Paulse and Stefan Terblanche had all committed to riding in next year’s tour.
National U23 road champion Marc Pritzen crosses the line to win this year’s Takealot Tour of Good Hope road race in the Cape Winelands. Planning is already under way for next year’s tour from March 2 to 6. Photo: Full Stop Communications
“This is something that is developing as we go along but it will be great to have them on the tour,” he said.
“We are still planning on how their inclusion will work because they may be part of a team and challenge other teams or they may challenge each other.
This year the tour enjoyed UCI status for the first time and Oosthuizen said they were confident of receiving positive feedback from the international body.
“The UCI status is an important factor, but there are budget factors to look at,” he said. “To be honest, it will be sponsor-dependent.”
Oosthuizen felt the variety of stages this year made it “a nice edition”.
“We admit that the first day was probably a bit short, but we will get that right for next year,” he said.
While introducing a team competition this year, he added that the solo categories remained an integral part of the overall offering.
“We do believe that there is room for a team category, but we realised that there is huge interest in the solo side of the race in the amateur competition, so we again hope to host all the categories for 2020.”
