Knysna’s renowned cycle races that were set to take place on 17 and 18 July 2021, as part of the Oyster Festival, have now been cancelled due to a harsh outbreak of COVID cases in South Africa, as part of the government’s additional restrictions from June end.
For cyclists who could not make it to Knysna for the real event, the event organiser of Knysna Speed Festival, together with partners, Wesgro, Visit Knysna and PSG Wealth, has taken the event into the virtual mainstream with the launch of the Virtual Rotary Knysna Cycle Tour on ROUVY.
“The Knysna Cycle Tour has always been an industry pioneer and ahead of the curve with its events,” says Race director, Ivan Van Lier. “With the onset of COVID-19 in May last year, we had to postpone the race, but we quickly pivoted to launch an exploratory virtual event. The initiative highlighted the value of virtual sports in promoting both Knysna and the event. With the rapid growth in the number of people engaging with the virtual world that is fast becoming a training and social riding phenomenon, we felt it imperative to up our virtual offering this year,” he added.
The virtual tour will feature three stages using a selection of actual routes of approximately 25km each from the Knysna Cycle Tour. This will enable riders to experience the beauty of Knysna’s surroundings while also engaging in some fierce competitive riding! Virtual Insanity, the South African agents for ROUVY, visited Knysna to film three segments of the route before digitising them into the virtual race.
ROUVY published the segments, so riders are now able to ride the three stages at any time of the day or night. Anyone is welcome to ride them as many times as one likes. The official Virtual Knysna Cycle Tour has two elements: the “Challenge” and the “Real Time” race. The “Challenge” kicked off this week and will run till 1 August. Once again, athletes can ride the stages as many times as they want, during the 28-day race period, to improve their times and climb up the leaderboard.
REGISTRATION
The online real time race will start at 15h00 SAST/CEST on Saturday 17 July. All riders will start at the same time and race the 25 kilometres against each other to the finish line.
**The registration for the augmented race is free of charge and open HERE, and for the Challenge, here. **
To take part in the official leaderboard of the Knysna Cycle Tour races, a minimum entry donation of R200 is required with the proceeds going to the Rotary Club of Knysna. By making a donation, riders will receive a free month’s subscription on ROUVY for July 2021, qualify for the ROUVY leaderboard classification and compete for prizes. Results will be posted regularly so you can see how you stack up against the rest of the field and your mates! To take part, simply log your entry online at www.knysnacycletour.co.za.
Instructions on how to use the platform and more details on the races are available on the web.
About the Rotary Knysna Cycle Tour
The Knysna Cycle Tour is a two day festival of cycling for the whole family. The series is owned by the ROTARY CLUB OF KNYSNA. It includes MTB events, road race events and a children’s tour too! Unfortunately, the 33rd year of the Tour, which had grown into one of the biggest and most popular races in South Africa, has been cancelled. The challenging and scenic routes start from Knysna, moving along the beautiful lagoon road and then heading towards George before winding up towards the Outeniqua mountains and then, finally they return to Knysna. For media enquiries please visit info@knysnacycle.co.za or call the race office at 044 382 7500.
About ROUVY
ROUVY is a digital racing platform for athletes all over the world to compete, ride with friends, do workouts and much more. ROUVY offers thousands of iconic and exotic virtual locations and training options, including the chance to take part in races and cycle through the entire route catalog. Thanks to simulated but fully realistic efforts, ROUVY is the best option for the most ambitious and toughest athletes to prepare for the race day. www.rouvy.com.