Title sponsor Volkswagen Group<\/a> South Africa, who will be giving away a VW Polo 1.4 Trendline worth R170 000, has committed itself to the event for the ninth year running.<\/p>\n The total prize purse has been increased to R114 000, with R10 000 going to the winners of the Ultimate Quest \u2013 a new category for riders competing in both the 80km Extreme mountain bike challenge and 106km Classic road race.<\/p>\n According to VWSA\u2019s general manager of communications Matt Gennrich, the Polo is the second-best selling car in South Africa after the Polo Vivo, which was this year\u2019s grand prize.<\/p>\n \u201cWith this being a premium event, we felt that it was appropriate to offer the VW Polo as an even bigger drawcard for entering the tour.\u201d<\/p>\n Gennrich said group managing director David Powels would hand the keys to one lucky entrant during the attendance draw at the prize giving in The Boardwalk<\/a> Convention Centre after the Sunday feature race.<\/p>\n As SA\u2019s second oldest national classic, he said it was in the interests of both the sponsor and Nelson Mandela Bay to grow the Herald<\/a> Cycle Tour and attract more participants from across the country.<\/p>\n \u201cWe would like to see The Herald VW Cycle Tour enjoy a similar status to that of the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour in Cape Town<\/a> and the Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge in Johannesburg.\u201d<\/p>\n Gennrich said the cycle tour was one of the metro\u2019s premier sporting events and, as such, was a good fit for the company.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the biggest ratepayer in the city, we believe that this is one way of giving something back to the community aside from all our other CSI initiatives.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition, he said it dovetailed with the company\u2019s philosophy of keeping its employees healthy through encouraging their participation in sport.<\/p>\n \u201cFor years we have had a small sports complex on our property which offers a number of codes, including cycling. This complex, which is due to open next year, is being upgraded into a multi-purpose sports and recreational facility called the PeoplePavilion.\u201d<\/p>\n VWSA would also supply more than 20 support vehicles as part of its sponsorship package, said Gennrich.<\/p>\n The Herald\u2019s chief marketing officer Justin Peel said participants in the 106km Classic could also look forward to a new route, which included one or two surprises along the way.<\/p>\n \u201cWe felt the route needed to be adjusted to bring it in line with some of the other top feature races on the South African cycling calendar.\u201d<\/p>\n The weekend festival of cycling kicks off on the Saturday with the mountain bike challenges in Addo<\/a> and Powerade-sponsored family road events at Hobie Beach in Port Elizabeth. The action wraps up with the feature road races on the Sunday.<\/p>\n
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