Tour Durban sets tills ringing
Based on statistics gathered over the last two years, almost 40% of the field travels from outside of KwaZulu-Natal triggering a direct spend of over R12,6 million in travel, accommodation and hospitality over the Freedom Day long weekend of the race.
Add to that the spend by the local riders on the day, enjoying the long weekend mood of the event, the array of different races that are on offer to riders will play a massive part in ensuring hotels and restaurants enjoy a prosperous weekend.
More than a quarter of the entrants in the aQuellé Tour Durban come from Gauteng, many of them opting to spend the long weekend on the coast with their families, reflected in the majority of them booking more than two bed-nights per person around the race.
Many of the serious cyclists and professional teams will also be in the region for over a week, taking part in the brand new Autumn Series of UCI point bearing road races organised by Cycling South Africa, in Pietermaritzburg and the South Coast, in the days following the Durban-based one day spectacle.
Just as important for the city, which is bidding for the Commonwealth Games in 2022, the reliable autumn weather shows off the cities attractions and the coastline impressively in images and television footage that are seen around the world.
eThekwini Mayor Cllr James Nxumalo said that draw card events like the aQuellé Tour Durban were important cogs in the regional economy and underscored the city's drive to position itself as a premier sporting destination on the African continent.
"The City has gone through great strides to ensure that cycling is encouraged with our residents and visitors. The dedicated cycle lanes that you will see around the city are to ensure that locals and tourists use non-motorised means of transport to reduce carbon emissions. We are proud to say that today, you can easily hire a cycle in Durban and you will see many cyclists on the beach promenade. The phenomenon is growing and events like the Tour Durban help towards profiling the destination as a cyclists paradise and encourage more social cyclists as well in our city. We hope that all the participants enjoy this special natural paradise, take advantage of the warm Indian Ocean, our spectacular Beach promenade and enjoy the warmth and soul of our unique city," added Nxumalo.
The race organisers are predicting a surge of late entries that will push the race entry beyond the 5000 mark.
"Entries were 18% up on last year and we are looking at breaching the 5000 entry mark as we expect the usual late entry deluge on Friday the 24th and Sat 25th April," said Mike Lewis of the Club Cappuccino organisation that owns and administers the race.
"The best part of all this is the balance between financing a superb event to satisfy the entrants and seeing profits going to help the local community," he added.
The race served as a seeding event for the Cape Town Cycle Tour 2016, offering aspirant road riders an early opportunity to bag a solid time and with it a preferential seeding for the Western Cape classic next Easter.
While online entries have closed, late entries will be taken at registration at the Suncoast Casino from 10h00 to 17h00 on Friday 24 April and Saturday 25 April 2015. No late entries will be accepted after 25 April 2015.
(File Photo: Office of the KZN Premier)
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