This last weekend saw the 41st Cape Town Cycle Tour (CTCT) take place, where around 35 000 participants took part in the world’s biggest individual timed event with very windy conditions to wrestle against.
The start line returned to the Grand Parade Precinct for the first time since 1980, where people either took off to beat their personal bests, to have fun, or to raise money for respective charities.
The Cape Town City Hall and wind-bothered palm trees standing high over the CTCT’s start line at the Grand Parade Precinct. PHOTO: Mike Wright.
Marelize Horn, recently famous for the viral “My f*k Marelize” video, was present to wish cyclists good luck, alongside Alan Winde, DA premier candidate for the Western Cape, whose surname coincidentally aligned very well with the weather conditions on the day.
Thank you to Marelize and her mom who came to say good luck to all the #CTCycleTour2019 riders pic.twitter.com/OED6BdttBf
— Premier Alan Winde (@alanwinde) March 10, 2019
The event got off without any major organisational hiccups, leading to Sam Gaze of New Zealand winning the Elite Men’s race and Cherise Willeit of South Africa winning the shorter 78km Elite Women’s race.
After the professional, semi-professional and the generally serious cyclists had departed, the outfits started to appear and the social aspect of the CTCT arrived.
Additionally, many people at the back of the pack rode for charities, which can sometimes go unnoticed by the media.
An example of a rider cycling for charity was Stellenbosch University Rector, Professor Wim de Villiers, who finished the race just over 5 hours with his daughter by his side.
De Villiers cycled in aid of #Move4Food, an initiative aiming to relieve the issue of food insecurity evident on campuses around South Africa.
He expressed how he received “a great deal of support from academics, the students, and the general public” of which he said, “certainly attests to it being worthwhile.”
Stellenbosch Rector Professor Wim de Villiers on top of his bike and eagerly heading towards the finish line. PHOTO: Henk Oets.
After the race, de Villiers enthusiastically spoke about Matie Bikes and how they are available for students to use, even pointing out that a group of Maties riders also partook in 2019 CTCT on the single speed Matie Bikes, all riding for the #Move4Food campaign as well.
It was later confirmed that the five students, part of The Hippocampus Fund, who rode on the Matie Bikes finished the CTCT twenty minutes before the cut off time, an incredible feat if the weight of the bikes and the strength of the wind on the day are taken into account.
Although the day was focussed on the CTCT and #Move4Food, de Villiers presented his views on cycling at Stellenbosch University when asked about it.
“I think Stellenbosch is so suited for cycling,” he said, reminiscing back to the time when first years were not allowed cars, “there is parking [for the university] even on the outskirts of the campus…but right now there is no future plan in place [for boosting cycling and minimising traffic in Stellenbosch].”
A group of CTCT participants, five of whom are part of The Hippocampus Fund, adorned in Maties Alumni cycling jerseys. PHOTO: Henk Oets.
With all the positives aside, condolences must be given to the family who lost a member on Sunday. David Bellairs of the Cape Town Cycle Tour shared a statement of a cyclist passing away after collapsing at Smitswinkle.
The cyclist who passed away was Dr. Derek Montagu Brink, whose sons (Nick, JJ, Derek, and Peter) all attended Stellenbosch University.