The Ultimate Quest is designed to reveal the supreme cyclist overall across both the 80km Extreme mountain bike challenge on the Saturday and 106km Classic road race on the Sunday.<\/p>\n
According to The Herald<\/a>\u2019s chief marketing officer Justin Peel, the seed of the idea grew from organisers\u2019 vision to improve the offering and create a true weekend festival of cycling.<\/p>\n \u201cIn addition, we believe it\u2019s a great opportunity that allows road and mountain bikers to compete on an even playing field.\u201d<\/p>\n With new-look routes both on and off-road, Peel said it was the perfect moment to introduce the Ultimate Quest.<\/p>\n \u201cParticularly on the mountain bike side, there\u2019s been a complete overhaul of the routes.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the road route the addition of the five-kilometre hill and Slanghoogte climb will ensure that race strategies will have to be adjusted from previous years.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the male and female winners of the Ultimate Quest would receive R5 000 each in addition to any prize money in the individual events.<\/p>\n Although many of the pro teams would probably compete for the new title, Peel said it was not created with them in mind.<\/p>\n \u201cThe primary purpose is to allow the avid cyclist who enjoys an endurance challenge the opportunity to become part of a small field of exclusive riders.\u201d<\/p>\n He said participants should be advanced riders with above-average fitness levels and technical skills on the mountain bike.<\/p>\n \u201cThe double bill is not to be taken lightly, so we urge all who enter to be well prepared.<\/p>\n \u201cGet out and begin hill training and fine-tune your recovery programme to ensure that you can tackle the road race with fresh legs.\u201d<\/p>\n Peel said organisers believed the new initiative would add fresh impetus to the country\u2019s second oldest national classic and help grow the event.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019d like to encourage more out of town riders to travel to our beautiful city.<\/p>\n \u201cWe hope the inclusion of the Ultimate Quest will spur on all serious cycling enthusiasts to take on a new challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n For those not quite up to it, he said there would be a range of shorter distances for the whole family at Addo<\/a> and Hobie Beach.<\/p>\n Enter the Ultimate Quest before January 21. Late entries will be accepted at registration at The Boardwalk<\/a> Convention Centre on Friday, February 1.<\/p>\n
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