Events

Pretoria city streets taken over by cyclists for the day

· By Press Office · 0 comments

The iconic Union Buildings set the stage for the first Engen Cycle in the City festival-style criterium held in Pretoria on Saturday. Hundreds of colourful cyclists took to the streets in an array of race categories that drew participants from all walks of life; ranging from the competitive street kings and queens to the “just for fun” minions and the fixie flat-box fundis.

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The two premier racing categories; the Street Kings – for the elite men and the Street Queens – for the elite women, saw a great turnout from some of the top professional teams in the country. In the Street Queens event it was Carla Oberholzer from Bestmed and Lise Olivier from TimeFreight VeloLife who escaped the bunch to duel it out on the hilly circuit. It was Lise Olivier who managed to cross the line first claiming the Street Queen title. In the elite men’s race the tactical battle between Bonitas pro Cycling Team, Abantu and Europcar culminated in HB Kruger from Bonitas bursting over line in first in the bunch gallop, claiming the Street King title.

HB Kruger said after the event “It is an awesome event guys, we really need more of these events!” and Lise Olivier said “What an awesome venue it looked incredible, I loved the entertainment and the vibe”. The response from competitors and spectators alike was resoundingly positive. “Really really great organization and very nice set-up here at the Union buildings. Future looks bright with races like this” said Gustav Basson via Twitter.

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The various racing categories on the day were hotly contested but it was the fun categories that had the crowd reeling for more. The “Mini-me & Minions” category had the youngsters racing over the cobbled short course around the entertainment area where top South African band, Monark, put on a show free to the public. Spectators were also spoiled by the Irene market, craft beer and food trucks with the Vodacom Blue Bulls Babes building some additional hype.

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The next event heads to Cape Town on 25 October followed by Durban on 8 November.

More info on www.engencycling.co.za.

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