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We are now into race week and tomorrow is D-Day for all you aQuellé Tour Durban hopefuls who do not already have your entries safely in the database. Online entries close tomorrow (Tuesday, April 16) at midnight for all the cycling events and after that we cannot guarantee seeding – and you will have to pay the late-entry surcharge.
In case you still do not know, there is plenty of choice for riders this year. Roadies are able to choose from one of 110km, 42km or 28km. For those who like to get off the tar, there are four choices: A brand new 48km gravel race; or three MTB distances of 40km, 20km and 10km.
For those riders who are organised and have already got their places booked on the start lines of the various events, you can head over to the race website (tourdurban.co.za) and look under "Race Info" to check out the various routes. If you are looking at the maps, note the slightly amended start area this year for the MTB races due to construction in the area, which means we are asking all riders to park at Cornubia Mall and ride to the start. Road races will all start at Moses Mabhida, as in 2023.
The great news is the weather is looking absolutely perfect. Saturday and Sunday should be dry with gentle winds, and the temperatures are predicted to be warm but not too hot. For the MTB and gravel riders, some rain early this week will probably be enough to settle some of the dust and make the tracks fast and grippy, without leaving residual water.
The roadies who have individual entries are reminded to find a few mates and join up for the free Gooderson Leisure Team Competition. You can be any grouping of mates you want: club teams, pub friends, riding groups, families, schools or sports teams can combine into four- or five-person teams and challenge other teams. You will still get your individual results, but can also be part of the team competition and each member of the team can win a great lucky draw prize for the whole family. Just go to ROAG.org and enter you team members for free (you only pay for an individual entry).
If you have family members who are trail runners, they can also be part of the aQuellé Tour Durban in the aQuellé Tour Durban Trail event. Entries close on Thursday for that at KZN Trail Running (kzntrailrunning.co.za).
A final reminder to all riders to go to Cycle Lab for you bike service. Riders in the aQuellé Tour Durban and aQuellé Tour Durban MTB powered by Cycle Lab riders get a huge discount on their pre-race service as well a discount on helmets just for entering the event, and there is a voucher to spend at Cycle Lab after race day.
Final race instructions will be sent to all riders on Thursday/Friday with start times and batching. Numbers and timing chips will be handed out at registration, along with race shirts to all entrants and socks for those who ordered.
Race registration is on April 19th & 20th at Cycle Lab Cornubia.
All the MTB, gravel and trail run events are on Saturday April 20th from near Cornubia Mall.
The road races are on Sunday April 21st starting and finishing at Moses Mabhida. |
