[Event] 99er Cycle Tour

[JAL]

Event Name: 99er Cycle Tour
When: 08/02/2025
Where: Durbanville Sports Grounds, DurbanvilleCape Town, Western Cape
Category: Road

The 99er offers 4 races - 95km, 76km & 45km road races plus the 80km Trilogy Gravel race. All races start and finish at the Durbanville Sports Grounds.

The 99er is also a seeding event for the 2025 Cape Town Cycle Tour.

Go to Event Page.

[Rouxenator]

In for the 80km gravel! 

Langvlei is waiting....

[MongooseMan]

Just had a look at the road route, 2 interesting changes:

1. No more crit circuit through the suburbs to start (this is good)

2. No more Odendaal hill to finish (looks like the normal Durbie Dash/Tour de PPA finish on Adderly, maybe a bit further down the road).

 

Also means 94km instead of 99...

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/313014923

Edited December 6 by MongooseMan

[hunterza]

47 minutes ago, MongooseMan said:

Just had a look at the road route, 2 interesting changes:

1. No more crit circuit through the suburbs to start (this is good)

2. No more Odendaal hill to finish (looks like the normal Durbie Dash/Tour de PPA finish on Adderly, maybe a bit further down the road).

The route changes are a bit of a pity. I never found that crit circuit at the start particularly dangerous - just *very* hard right at the start if you were in a group that was pushing the pace (all the times I can remember!). And the end up Odendaal was always very memorable and challenging, although the ending crit circuit through the suburbs felt a lot more dangerous. I'll still ride it and, I'm sure, enjoy it - but it does feel like it has lost something. I suppose it's quite likely that the organisers didn't have much of a choice here though...

[MongooseMan]

The "crit" is an issue because A batch has it as neutralised, B batch doesn't.

So last year, for 99er and Tour de PPA, B batch caught A batch before the 5km crit section was done, which lead to all manner of issues.

 

Agree on Odendaal, it was a unique finish, it's now the same as all the other Dbnvl races.

[Skubarra]

Also sad that the finish through D'Urbanvale and Odendaal has been taken out, its the one aspect of the race that was unique compared to the other northern suburbs races, but I get why - traffic congestion a big headache in the northern suburbs with the town expanding (Clara Anna etc). I do hope at one point the roads will be fixed to the extent that they can bring back Vissershok and Van Schoorsdrift, the Malmesbury out and back not particularly exciting imo.

[Bub Marley]

Every year a piece of what makes this race so great gets removed. I know it’s most likely not the organisers fault but it’s a real pity. From finishing with a double vissershok and odendal, to no vissershok, then no vissershok and odendal cut in half and now no vissershok and no odendal. It sucks.

[babse]

15 minutes ago, MongooseMan said:

The "crit" is an issue because A batch has it as neutralised, B batch doesn't.

So last year, for 99er and Tour de PPA, B batch caught A batch before the 5km crit section was done, which lead to all manner of issues.

 

Agree on Odendaal, it was a unique finish, it's now the same as all the other Dbnvl races.

This...

 

After visserhok was shelled, odendaal really set this race apart from the rest on boereworse curtain. What a shame...

[MongooseMan]

@NicholasH without throwing you under the bus, are you able to add any colour to the route changes? 😉

[Rudii]

99er and Durbie Dash is pretty much becoming carbon copies of each other. Organisers will have to think outside of the box to differentiate from the other.

[Jbr]

next year 99er will be two loops of the parderberg circuit

[Wannabe]

And with that new monstrosity called the Phesantekraal Mall that is being built on the Wellington/Malmesbury rd, we are going to be hamstrung even more. Feel like we are being encircled and all our previously safe (read relatively car free routes) are being eroded at an ever-faster pace. 

As soon as they've developed all the available land on this side, Koeberg rd./D'Urbanvale is going to be next.

 

[RossTopher]

decided to go for the Gravel one this year. glad i did as no Odendaal really dampens the attraction of the road race. it was already so flat, we kinda need that climb at the end to empty the tank

[Allrounder]

Contemplating the gravel options as well. 

I don't know any of the routes they are talking about, so it will be a "blind" race and following the second last person.  

[NicholasH]

7 hours ago, MongooseMan said:

Just had a look at the road route, 2 interesting changes:

1. No more crit circuit through the suburbs to start (this is good)

2. No more Odendaal hill to finish (looks like the normal Durbie Dash/Tour de PPA finish on Adderly, maybe a bit further down the road).

 

Also means 94km instead of 99...

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/313014923

Hi

In short the route change: we were forced to change the start from Durbanville Racecourse for many reasons. After literally 2 months of scouting grounds, driving the routes a few times and looking at every possible option (remember I am a keen cyclist myself and head of operations) this was the only route choice we had. Durbanville simply does not have the infrastructure to support a 4000+ strong cyclist event. What people also don't realise is that you cannot simply send 1000 cyclists out of Durbanville on any route. You have to look at timing of when the elites and A and B groups come back to the start vs the other slower and short routes leave. It is ridiculously complex and respectfully to everyone here, unless you have planned a race yourself, you have no idea...

Anyway, we try our best to still be unique, hence 3 road routes and a longer gravel route.

Vissershok HAD TO be removed because local municipality refused to maintain the road and thus we couldn't use it. Odendal and D'Urbanvale fell away because we now HAVE TO end on Koeberg. We are still the only event that uses the Old Malmesbury road which is fast and safe. Looking forward to meeting you all on raceday 

[MongooseMan]

24 minutes ago, NicholasH said:

Hi

In short the route change: we were forced to change the start from Durbanville Racecourse for many reasons. After literally 2 months of scouting grounds, driving the routes a few times and looking at every possible option (remember I am a keen cyclist myself and head of operations) this was the only route choice we had. Durbanville simply does not have the infrastructure to support a 4000+ strong cyclist event. What people also don't realise is that you cannot simply send 1000 cyclists out of Durbanville on any route. You have to look at timing of when the elites and A and B groups come back to the start vs the other slower and short routes leave. It is ridiculously complex and respectfully to everyone here, unless you have planned a race yourself, you have no idea...

Anyway, we try our best to still be unique, hence 3 road routes and a longer gravel route.

Vissershok HAD TO be removed because local municipality refused to maintain the road and thus we couldn't use it. Odendal and D'Urbanvale fell away because we now HAVE TO end on Koeberg. We are still the only event that uses the Old Malmesbury road which is fast and safe. Looking forward to meeting you all on raceday 

Thanks! I don't think anyone here envies your task of trying to balance cyclist desires for routes with local authorities, traffic, etc.

Looking forward to Feb, at least I don't have to keep a bullet in the chamber for the last 500m now 😉