Bestmed Cycle4Cansa Championship operations manager Darren Herbst confirmed partial road closures would be implemented to enhance rider safety during the event’s road races at Sun City on Sunday.

He said the 103km and 70km events got under way from 6.30am and that a section of the R510, between the R556 and Monnakato, would subsequently be closed between 6am and 12pm.

“This partial road closure really is a great benefit to the event. We’ve always aimed to put the rider first and this was primarily done for safety reasons,” said Herbst.

“We’ve had a big buy-in from the municipality and we hope, together, that we can raise awareness and get people to avoid this area on Sunday.”

With more than 4 000 participants expected this year for the road races alone, Herbst said their number one focus was on ensuring a safe passage for everyone who took part.

Last year organisers made a call to move the road races to the Sunday to avoid the heavy mining traffic that passed through the area and this was well-received.

Sparks are set to fly in the feature event where BCX’s defending champion Nolan Hoffman will come up against the in-form RoadCover duo of Willie Smit and Brendan Davids.

Smit, the African continental champion, won the recent Lowveld Tour while Davids took the title in last month’s tough Bestmed Jock Classic.

National road race champion Heidi Dalton and Bestmed-ASG’s Sanet Coetzee, who has been impressive in both road and mountain bike races this season, are two of the big names in the women’s category.

Apart from the road events, the 20th edition of the Bestmed Cycle4Cansa features 25km and 50km mountain bike races on Saturday. These pass through the Gary Player and Lost City golf courses as well as the neighbouring Letsatsing Game Reserve.

Go to www.cansalostcity.co.za for more information.

Organisers have announced road closures to enhance rider safety at the 20th Bestmed Cycle4Cansa event this weekend. Photo: Jetline Action Photo

Issued by: Full Stop Communications