We have made a strategic call to move KZN Road Champs from its traditional time slot in January prior to SA Champs to a fixed time slot in the first week of July. KZN Champs 2024 will be moved to 6&7 July 2024, using the same venue Hay Barn and Hebron Haven with the racing on Dargle Road.
Entries are still open via the CSA entry portal. Current entries will be maintained to the new date of 6&7 July 2024.
Current uptake in entries is sluggish. In retrospect this is a call that should have been made some time back. There are so many reasons why it is better to have our event in July that I anticipate will favour an increase in rider participation.
I am really excited about this call and look forward to a successful Road Championship in July.
An innovative partnership has been developed between organisations from the UK and South Africa to establish a specialist cycle hub which will enable thousands of children in rural South Africa to learn how to ride and maintain bicycles.
Since 2016, the University of Leeds and the Bambisanani Partnership have devised and delivered a Cycling to Success programme based at Mnyakanya High School in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal.
This programme has led to almost 200 young people learning how to ride bikes safely, and to also maintain and fix bikes in the community. The programme has also operated a bike rental scheme to allow leaners who live great distances from school to ride to and from school.
The project has gained widespread acclaim, including praise from World Champion professional cyclist, Lizzie Diegan MBE, who has even given her own kit to support it.
The ambition has always been to expand and grow the programme to further schools in the area to broaden the reach and numbers of children gaining these valuable life skills.
Over the last two years, the University of Leeds and the Bambisanani Partnership have been working with the highly respected KZN Cycling, the provincial cycling federation, to identify opportunities for collaboration and to expand the project across a great number of schools and across the calendar year.
The Bambisanani Cycling to Success programme introduced in the remote Nkandla region has had an enormous impact.
This is an area where children can routinely walk two hours to and from school each day. The bikes have subsequently been used for transportation, recreation, informal sport and even by the local football team for fitness training. Other remote rural communities also approached the Partnership to see if they could be involved, but until now this has not been possible.
The collaboration with KZN Cycling dramatically increases capacity to bring cycling, with all its transformative benefits, to other communities.
Over the past week, the Bambisanani Partnership and KZN Cycling have signed a three-year agreement worth over R520 000 to establish a cycling hub in the Nkandla region.
This new hub will have a local community member as a member of staff to deliver schools cycling programmes, as well as community clinics and organise races and events across the area.
The new hub will enable 5 000 young people per year to attend training clinics, as well as acting as a talent identification programme for KZN-Cycling performance pathway. This new partnership provides an exciting opportunity to empower the young people of Nkandla, as well as providing a blueprint for future programmes and projects.
The commitment and enthusiasm for this project is clearly evident from those involved:
“We are all excited to develop this new partnership. A cycling hub like this, run by the community, for the community is development at its best,” said Andrew Lockwood from the University of Leeds who is a Bambisanani Partnership Trustee.
“We have already seen the significant impact our cycling projects have had in Nkandla; and this expansion is great news and I am sure will make a long-term impact on those who benefit from it.”
Alec Lenferna, Chief Executive Officer of KZN Cycling, is excited to see the province’s already impressive programme expanding.
“We’ve always believed that we have a good programme in place across all eleven districts in the province, and every year we have tens of thousands of youngsters that get included in the various elements,” said Lenferna.
“However, the new agreement that has been put in place with the Bambisanani Partnership, not only endorses the hard work being done by all, but more significantly, allows for longer-term strategic planning linked to elements that are going to positively impact on the lives of the people of the Nkandla region.”
“For people in the deep rural areas of KZN, bikes, and the linked opportunities that bikes have, are life changing. If there were more organisations like the Bambisanani Partnership that got behind development programmes like this, whether here or elsewhere in the world, there would be more smiles on more faces every day.”
David Geldart, CEO and Founder of the Bambisanani Partnership, is grateful for the partnerships that have allowed the programme to grow.
“I am absolutely delighted to have signed this agreement to work in partnership with KZN Cycling,” he said. “Our own cycling programmes in the deep rural areas have been a resounding success and it is a wonderful opportunity to be now collaborating with KZN Cycling to bring cycling to thousands more young people.”
“Significantly, this work will also involve the KZN Department of Education and the KZN Department of Sport and Recreation, who we have worked with closely for many years. Massive thanks must go to Andy and Alec for working tirelessly to create this pioneering programme.”
With final preparations now underway the first children will be participating in the programme by early June of this year.
The KZN Road and Time Trial Championships will take place from Glencairn Weddings, just outside Himeville (Underberg) on the weekend of 20 – 22 January 2023.
FAST FACTS When: Friday 20th – Sunday 22nd January 2023 Where: Glencairn Weddings, Himeville (near Underberg) What: Friday 20th January – Hill Climb Championships Saturday 21st January – Time Trial Championships Sunday 22nd January – Road Championships Entries: Go to www.cyclingsa.com Closing date: Monday 16th January 2023
The venue at Glencairn Weddings is well known to mountain bikers and trail runners (host to sani2c, JoBerg2c and the Glencairn Trail Run – amongst many other events and gatherings) and provides a range of accommodation options to suit all pockets. There are also plenty of other nearby accommodation options in the area. Whilst the venue requires some travel to get there, participants (and supporters) will be well-rewarded with a beautiful setting and the opportunity to make a full weekend of cycling festivities in a pristine environment.
Both the Time Trial and the Road Race will make use of the Sani Pass road, over a 10km stretch, starting just outside the entrance to Glencairn and heading towards Sani Pass Hotel. The tarmac is in excellent condition and provides a smooth and fast surface with undulating hills which will make for some testing racing.
For the first time ever, a Hill Climb has been introduced and this will add a new element to the Championships, especially as the ‘real King & Queen’ in each category will be determined from a combination of all three events ! The Hill Climb starts just past the Sani Pass Hotel and covers a distance of 11km to the SA Border Post. This stretch of road has only recently been tarred and is spectacular. The gradient is steep in places but there are several flat and downhill sections and will make for a really special addition to the weekend of racing
EVENT SCHEDULE & INFO
Friday 20 January HILL CLIMB CHAMPIONSHIPS Entry fee R180 Open to all age-groups (U11 – 70+) Start times: 10h00: U11 Boys & Girls, U13 Boys & Girls, U15 Girls 10h30: U15 Boys, U17 Girls, Women 40+, Men 70+ 11h00: Women U19, U23, Elite, 30-39, Boys U17, Men 50-69 11h30: Men U19, U23, Elite, 30-39, 40-49.
Start times (per age-group): Will be sent to all entrants once entries have closed (after 17 Jan) Elite & U23 Men: TT distance to be confirmed – 34km / 47km.
Medal Presentation: Will take place at Glencairn once all the age-groups have finished and the results have been verified (approx. 13h00)
Saturday 21 January ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS Entry fees / Distances / Age-Group 20km – R250 (U11 Boys & Girls / U13 Boys & Girls / U15 Girls)
Start time: 15h00
Sunday 22 January ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS Entry fees / Distances / Age-Group 60km – R300 (U15 Boys / U17 Girls / Men 70+ / Women 40-49, 50-59, 60-69) 80km – R300 (Women Junior, U23, Elite, 30-39 / U17 Boys, Men 50-59, 60-69) 120km – R350 (Men Junior, U23, Elite, 30-39, 40-49)
Start times: 06h00 – Men Junior, U23, Elite, 30-49 08h00 – Boys U17, Men 50-59, 60-69 08h30 – Women U19, U23, Elite, 30-39 08h45 – Girls U17, Women 40+, Boys U15, Men 70+
Final Awards Presentations: Will take place at Glencairn once the results have been verified – times to be confirmed but no later than 12h00.
ROUTE PROFILES Road / Time Trial Course (20km lap) NOTE: the below is the full stretch of road between the turn-off to Sani Pass (off the Himeville road) to the turn point (past the Sani Pass Hotel) – there are variations of the route distance depending on each category and event (ITT / RR).
Hill Climb: 11km
CYCLING CLUBS Should encourage their members to take part ! This is not just about the medal contenders – the weekend is the perfect opportunity for riders to take part in a unique road cycling event, challenge themselves and enjoy road cycling at its best. Not to mention, it’s a worthwhile goal to ‘lift your game’ over the festive season and get some training done ! Clubs will be able to put up their gazebo’s at the start / finish venue at Glencairn and make use of the facilities provided (toilets and showers).
KING / QUEEN OF THE CHAMPIONS ! A unique inclusion to the KZN Road Cycling Championships. Participants who compete in all three events (Hill Climb, Time Trial and Road Race) will be eligible for the award of ‘King / Queen of the Champions’. This award has been created to encourage participation in all three events and the winners will certainly be worthy Champions !
The age-groups will be per below: U11 Boys & Girls U13 Boys & Girls U15 Boys & Girls U17 Boys & Girls Junior Men & Women Elite & U23 Men & Women Masters 30-39 Men & Women Masters 40-49 Men & Women Masters 50-59 Men & Women Masters 60+ Men & Women
GENERAL
ACCOMMODATION / FACILITIES Glencairn Weddings (www.glencairnweddings.co.za) offer a wide range of accommodation options from tents to dormitory style to chalets. They are also offering a discount to all riders taking part in the KZN Champs weekend. Use this link to log in to the booking system: https://computicket-boxoffice.com/e/kzn-road-champs-0J1aaw The venue offers hot showers and plenty of toilets. There will be coffee vendors and catering on site. Google search for plenty of other accommodation options in the Himeville / Underberg / Sani Pass area.
ENTRIES A valid CSA membership is required to enter. Entries are open on www.cyclingsa.com (log into your profile to see the entry portal)
ENQUIRIES Event Director Angus McFarlane 082 820 4490 Admin Rebecca van der Linde 082 896 6864 E-mail gm@kzncycling.co.za
