An array of wonderful venue partners have added their support to the Bestmed Tour of Good Hope and the race village at the beautiful La Paris Estate is set to deliver a festival atmosphere during the week of the Tour, which takes place from 29 February – 4 March 2016. Riders receive five meals during the course of the week, kicking off with the presentation dinner on the eve of the first stage and then lunches daily following stages 1-4. County Fair and Karan Beef are providing the chicken and beef for meals while Rhodes Foods are sponsoring juice for the venue. County Fair is one of the largest suppliers of poultry in South Africa while Karan Beef is well-known for supplying some of the finest red meat on the globe. Karan Beef will be supplying succulent 300gram, 28 day matured steaks and will also supply the beef patties for the event’s burger lunch day. Rhodes Foods is a Paarl based enterprise and it’s a great honour for the tour to have local support. Paarl's famous chocolatier, DV Artisan Chocolates, will also be on hand to provide their sweet treats at a fraction of their retail price. These award winning chocolates will provide much needed energy sustenance courtesy of their cocoa base. Another locally based businness, Buffet Olives, sponsor of the Time Trial prize money, is providing its delectable olives, which were very popular last year. The central race village hub for the 2016 Tour has opened up these opportunities for sponsors to assist because the activation is a lot less challenging than with a point to point race. The central race village also significantly reduces the logistics and own costs of participants, related to travelling and accommodation. For previous editions of the tour most riders had a support crew whom they also had to accommodate and feed for the week. The tour is trying to minimise rider costs and logistical difficulties as much as possible for next year, opening it up to a wider participant base. The changes will decrease the hassle factor of attending the race considerably. Paarl is surrounded by some of the most famous passes in the country and lends itself perfectly to a clover leaf racing format. The 2016 Bestmed Tour of Good Hope, presented by Rudy Project and the City of Drakenstein, is the biggest road stage race in the country and the only Western Cape road tour to be officially sanctioned by Cycling South Africa - the organising committee are eager to set the wheels in motion. The five-day tour, which starts in Paarl on February 29, will take a thousand riders on a 522km journey through the Cape Winelands, with racing categories for both professional and amateur teams. “We’re building something really special, a proper national road tour, for the future here,” said event convenor, Wynand de Villiers of ASG Events. “The event is ideally positioned as the only sanctioned tour ahead of the Cape Town Cycle Tour and it takes place shortly after SA road champs, so the competitive riders should be in good racing form. “It’s also excellent preparation for the Cape Town Cycle Tour, which happens two days after the Tour of Good Hope comes to an end. Without exception, every open/seeded rider who has taken part in the Tour rides their best Argus ever. “Cycling comes from cycling, as the saying goes,” he said. “Lots of mountain-bikers get in on the act as well. The Absa Cape Epic starts two weeks after the tour and it’s a great chance to sharpen up for the Epic contenders. Christoph Sauser has also confirmed his attendance.” According to De Villiers, because the event takes place in the European off-season, the Tour of Good Hope has become an attractive proposition to international teams and normal cyclo sport riders from Europe. ”We have more than 100 cyclo sport riders from Europe who have entered in the individual open/seeded category.” The racing comprises four road stages plus a time-trial. Further event info at www.tourofgoodhope.co.za.