Make a ‘mini vacation’ of The Herald Cycle Tour 2025

UNPARALLELED HOSPITALITY: Cyclist Kelsey van Schoor enjoys a hearty breakfast at Town Lodge Gqeberha, official accommodation sponsor of The Herald Cycle Tour. Image: WERNER HILLS

The weekend of February 14-16 is not only Valentine’s weekend, but also the dates for the road races of The Herald Cycle Tour, fuelled by Astron Energy, in Gqeberha.

Offering more than one good reason to break away to the Friendly City, visitors need to look no further than Town Lodge Gqeberha in Summerstrand for all their accommodation needs as the official road race accommodation sponsor and partner for The Herald Cycle Tour 2025.

Town Lodge Gqeberha is sponsoring 40 single and/or double rooms for the weekend of The Herald Cycle Tour’s road races (Saturday February 15 and Sunday February 16 from Pollok Beach), in addition to providing preferential rates for out-of-town riders and spectators.

This follows the mountain bike races of The Herald Cycle Tour 2025 which take place the previous weekend on Sunday February 9 at the Addo Polo Club.

Hotel general manager Glenn Pappin said the preferential rates applied for the period February 1-16 at Town Lodge Gqeberha.

“A major sporting event like The Herald Cycle Tour is an excellent platform to showcase Gqeberha and its surrounds, boosting visitor numbers, increasing spend in hotels, restaurants and other businesses, and, overall, shining a light on the many wonderful local attractions,” Pappin said.

He added that City Lodge Hotels, conveniently located along the route of the iconic cycle race, was proud to be associated with The Herald Cycle Tour 2025.

“We offer six hotels in the Eastern Cape, representing all four of our brands — Courtyard Hotel, City Lodge Hotel, Town Lodge and Road Lodge.

“Each brand has a property in Summerstrand. We look forward to hosting cyclists, their entourages and families each year.”

Town Lodge Gqeberha is ideally situated close to the Boardwalk Mall and excellent restaurants, while some of the best beaches in the city are all within walking distance.

The hotel offers fast and reliable wi-fi, a 14-seater boardroom, a sparkling pool and deck, plus a sundowner bar with spectacular views of the ocean.

“Gqeberha has successfully hosted many sporting events and this is no doubt due to its pleasant year-round weather, world-class facilities, diverse geographical features like beaches and the warm ocean, trails and lush foliage, and its role as the economic hub in the Eastern Cape,” Pappin said.

“For those keen to make a holiday out of it, there is a lot to see and do in the area.”

In addition, on race weekend the race village will offer picnic zones, a family tent, beer garden, kiddies play park, live entertainment and Standard Bank’s VIP lounges.

Riders and spectators can also look forward to exciting race village activations by platinum sponsor Telkom, as well as co-naming sponsor Astron Energy.

Entries close at midday on February 3. To enter, and for further information, visit www.heraldcycletour.co.za.

For other queries, contact The Herald marketing manager Berna Ulay-Walters at ulayb@theherald.co.za.