Quest to find new double champion
WITH two-time winner James Reid a doubtful starter, The Herald VW Cycle Tour could be looking for a new Ultimate Quest champion when the event takes place in Nelson Mandela Bay at the end of January.
The Ultimate Quest offers bragging rights – and R5000 in cash – for the men and women riders with the best combined times in the 106km Classic road race and 80km Extreme mountain bike challenge. In addition, the winners each receive a Festina watch valued at R4500.
National marathon champion Reid (Trek), who is also a cross- country specialist, has been the undefeated champion since the Ultimate Quest's inception two years ago.
However, a possible international racing conflict could see him miss out on his third bite at the cherry.
"I'm waiting for confirmation from a race in Oman. If I get an entry, I have to go there because I'm chasing Olympic qualifying points," Reid said.
"Otherwise, I'll definitely be back to defend my title!"
The women's category has been dominated by Olympian Candice Neethling (Time Freight-VeloLife), who secured an impressive hat-trick of wins in the mountain bike race en route to her second Ultimate Quest title this year.
According to race director Brad Jackson, the "super category" was one of the things that set the second oldest national classic apart from other cycling events.
"To my knowledge, this is the only event that offers something like this," Jackson said.
"The Herald VW Cycle Tour is really an all-round festival of cycling but, in the past, the mountain bike races at Addo and the road races in PE were very much two separate events.
"We wanted to add an aspect that would link the two disciplines together and at the same time bring something fun and exciting to the event."
Jackson said the initial expectation had been that the category would cater for only a handful of pro riders.
"We've been really surprised at the growth in the number of average riders entering the Ultimate Quest challenge over the past two years."
He attributed it to the fact that endurance athletes were always looking for a new challenge.
"Most serious mountain bikers tend to spend a lot of time on their road bikes in training anyway, so we figured why not give them a chance to prove their worth against the best of the roadies."
Jackson said any rider who could handle the mountain bike feature race should be able to cope with the demands of the Ultimate Quest.
He recommended that would-be Ultimate Quest participants put in similar preparation to what they would for any multi-day race and start their training well in advance of the festive season.
He said riders would be evaluated on their times rather than a points or position-based system.
Enter at www.heraldcycletour.co.zabefore January 19.
