The decision by the organizers of the annual Kremetart One Day Stage Race, the P&L Hardware Cycling Club, not to apply for dates on the Gauteng North Cycling (GNC) 2006 calendar is said to threaten the survival of the race. The club, however, says their decision will have no negative effect on the race.

For the first time ever, the new unified cycling controlling body, Cycling South Africa (CSA), has produced one National Cycling Calendar, listing over 800 cycling events in South Africa for 2006. Clubs were required to apply to their province for dates on the calendar by June 2005 if they wanted their events to be included on the National Calendar for 2006.

The P&L Hardware Cycling Club decided not to apply for any dates from the GNC as they intend to set up their own controlling body for Limpopo Cycling. This meant that the annual Kremetart One Day Stage Race, probably the single biggest sporting event in the region, was not included on the National Cycling Calendar for 2006 and will not be a CSA-sanctioned event in 2006 and 2007.

Professional and licensed cyclists are prohibited from taking part in unsanctioned events and events not on the National Calendar in terms of UCI regulations. This rule, it is argued, will directly exclude a number of last year’s participants and every top cyclist from attending the 2006 Kremetart. The presence of the top cyclists at races acts as a drawcard for many other cyclists. It is feared that the absence of the country’s top riders is likely to result in a decline in participation for the first time in the 15-year history of the event. In the past, the event brought a huge financial boost for the local economy.

The move by CSA evens out the score a little for the CSA officials who, as reported in the Zoutpansberger of January 20, had to eat humble pie last year when their advisory that the Kremetart 2005 was not a sanctioned event for licensed riders was withdrawn just before last year’s race, after an intervention by Dave Bellairs, Cape Argus Cycle Tour chairman.

In reaction, a spokesperson for the P&L Hardware Cycling Club, Koos Engelbrecht, said that the club felt it was not necessary to list the event on the GNC 2006 calendar as enough marketing will be done through Super Cycling and television. He also said that the argument that the country’s top riders will not compete in the event is debatable.

Engelbrecht said that although the race is not sanctioned by CSA, it is not a foregone conclusion that the Kremetart could not be sanctioned before the race.

“People must know that the P&L Hardware Cycling Club made a calculated decision not to list the event on the GNC calendar as the Kremetart has nearly reached maximum capacity with regard to available infrastructure. During a recent club meeting, we decided that, instead of growing the number of entries, we would rather like to see the Kremetart grow in exclusivity,” Engelbrecht said. He concluded by saying that he cannot in any way see that the club’s decision would impact negatively on the event and on the number of entries in comparison to previous years.