125th Paarl Boxing day

The 125th Paarl Boxing day track cycling challenge took place at the Faure street stadium, Paarl, on Tuesday 26 December.

This track cycling event started in 1897 with the open 25-mile race being the most prestigious event on the program. The winner of this races gets their name engraved on the Minnaar trophy that dates back to 1908.

90 riders participated this year ranging in categories from under 11 scholars to masters.

The elite field saw the professional rider, Jonas Rickaert, from Belgium lining up on the start line along side the top local track riders. He took top honours by winning the 25-mile and was also awarded the top rider of the day trophy.

Jonas Rickaert wins the 25-mile race. Photo Marc Pentz

Here are the results of all the races.

Track cyclists ready to race

Track cyclists from across South Africa are ready to race at Maximum Velocity 7. This is the final event at Bellville velodrome before the national track cycling championships.

It takes place on the Cape Town Cycle Tour weekend. This allows visiting riders the chance to an outing on the track on Friday, 10 Nov, before the Cycle Tour.

The program is fast and action packed. It features a sprint invitation, a team pursuit and and endurance competition.

The sprint event is by invitation and these riders will entertain the crowds in a match sprint tournament.

The endurance events are there to sharpen the skills before the national championship. It features technical events such as the points, scooter scratch and elimination races. Riders in the Cape are familiar with the scooter scratch. This is an endurance race where the scooter paces the riders for a set amount of laps while they rotate. Riders may only sit behind the scooter for 1 lap. The scooter pulls of with a few laps to go and then it is a scratch race from there.

Spectator entry is free. There will be coffee and food on sale at the event.

Entries close on Tuesday, 7 March 2023. No late entries.

Sign-on and number collection closes at 6.30pm on race night. Racing starts at 7pm and finishes at 10pm.

Entry details are here: https://www.wpcycling.com/event/maximum-velocity-7-track-classic-bellville-velodrome/?instance_id=2526

The program is here: https://www.wpcycling.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/MV7-DRAFT-PROGRAM.pdf