This year’s annual Kremetart Cycle Race from 8 to 10 June promises to be the biggest ever, with PPC Cement coming on board as main sponsor and pledging to pump R1 million into the event over the next three years.

The event will see a major shift back towards greater community involvement and support as one of PPC’s pre-conditions with regard to their sponsorship. This entails rather making use of local skills and products than bringing in outside help.

P&L Hardware Cycling Club in Louis Trichardt will once again play host to the event, which has established itself as one of the top cycling races in South Africa over the years. The popularity of the race is already evident, with a record number of entries received within the first five days since online entries opened at the beginning of March. These entries annually include some of the top names and cycling teams in the country. Due to the race’s popularity, the organisers have opted to limit this year’s entries to 1 200.

PPC’s sponsorship has enabled the organisers to dramatically increase the prize money for category winners in not only the 175km stage race,  the 70km and 10km races on the Saturday, but also the 50km, 30km and 10km mountain bike races on the Sunday. The mountain bike races are a relatively new addition to the Kremetart and are also growing annually in popularity. This is evident from the feedback from cyclists.

“The Kremetart in particular is a great event, as you can go for the weekend and get some racing miles in with the 175km road race on the Saturday and the mountain bike race on the Sunday. The mountain race was interesting, and had some hard climbs. The descent is fast and there are a few places where you can test your skills with some single-track and fast jeep-track downhills. It is a well-marked route and definitely an event for the whole family,” commented Nico Bell, winner of the 2010 Kremetart 40km mountain-bike race.

More emphasis will also be placed on better entertainment for visitors to Louis Trichardt for the whole three days this year. This will include the establishment of a “fun village” at the tourism information centre along the N1, and even a life performance by a top South African musician, following the prize-giving function the Saturday evening.

More effort will also be put into better branding at the start and finish of each stage, while the highly popular kiddies race on the Friday afternoon is to form part of the entertainment line-up once again. As for the 10km fun ride on the Saturday, the focus this year will be on bigger school participation, with prize money for category winners in the U/10, U/11, U/12 and U/13 age categories. Specific prizes for the funniest dress and funniest bike will also be awarded.

Apart from PPC Cement's coming on board as main sponsor for the next three years, other major sponsors include Jacaranda FM as media sponsor,  Coal of Africa, Coca-Cola Powerade, the Makhado Municipality, Limpopo Tourism and P&L Hardware. Any other local business wishing to come on board with regard to promoting the business through a sponsorship (not necessarily in monetary terms) is welcome to do so. Hotel, guest house and lodge owners are also urged to indicate whether they have any extra accommodation available during the event. People can also start booking stalls with regard to the fun village. For more information in this regard, visit www.kremetartcycling.co.za or phone Jandré at Tel 083 288 5426 or Paula at 076 193 9789.