The Herald Cycle Tour turns 40 in full gear

Entries are now open for the 40th milestone edition of The Herald Cycle Tour, which promises to be the biggest event to date in terms of prize money, race village atmosphere and fast-paced competition on track and off-road.

The prize purse for competitive riders for the 2026 edition of the tour will be an impressive R650,000, sponsored by Tshedo Impact — the largest amount to ever be given away at the event in celebration of 40 years of cycling in the region.

“This is going to be a big one, the biggest Nelson Mandela Bay has seen.

“We are inviting more riders — elite and development riders — to come out and join us and soak in the beauty of our Bay with us,” The Herald editor Rochelle de Kock said.

The mountain bike races will take place on Sunday February 8 at the Addo Polo Club, while the road races will be over the weekend of Saturday February 14, and Sunday February 15, from Pollok Beach.

“It is the biggest cycling event in the Eastern Cape, and it sees riders from around the country — even from other countries around the world — coming out to enjoy the beautiful Nelson Mandela Bay scenery and the Sundays River Valley region for the mountain bike ride,” De Kock said.

“It has become an event for the entire family, and it truly is an opportunity to show off the beauty of our city and what it has to offer for visitors.”

The 40th edition of the Herald Cycle Tour promises an elevated family experience at the Race Village, featuring dedicated family tents, a lively beer garden, a children’s playpark, live on-stage entertainment, exclusive VIP lounges, gourmet food stalls, interactive cycling demos, chill-out zones, and fun competitions for all ages.

Highlights also include meet-and-greets with pro riders, race-day selfie stations and a live DJ to keep the energy high throughout the day.

More development riders will be invited to participate in the 2026 races, and beneficiary organisations that will be supported by the tour include uThando Youth Cycle Academy, Bayethe Multi Sport Academy, Reach for a Dream and the Smile Foundation.

“Reaching this milestone inspires us to enhance the rider experience for cyclists and their families and, also, to plough deeper into the community with upliftment projects,” De Kock said.

“Each year, our team strives to elevate the event, and this anniversary allows us to broaden our impact by placing a stronger focus on outreach — supporting local schools, charities and development riders in and around Nelson Mandela Bay.

“We want to ensure that the Herald Cycle Tour is something that truly belongs to everyone.”

Race distances include the 80km Extreme, 60km Adventure, 30km Leisure, 5km Family Ride and 500m Junior race in the mountain bike event.

In the road race event, the distances are the 106km Classic, 55km Pursuit and the 2km and 500m Junior races.

In addition to the increased prize money, three TREK bicycles will be up for grabs as lucky draw prizes.

These include two sets of Marlin 4 GEN2 bicycles valued at R26,000 (open to all MTB and Road participants), sponsored by TREK & Cyclo Pro, and one 2025 TREK Top Fuel 5 (Matte Mercury) valued at R55,000 (available for Standard Bank MTB and Road participants), sponsored by Standard Bank.

Sponsors of The Herald Cycle Tour include Telkom (Top-tier Platinum), Tshedo Impact (prize money sponsor), Standard Bank (Silver), Sarah Baartman District Municipality (Gold, mountain bike races), as well as vehicle sponsor Eastern Cape Motor Group, hydration sponsor Powerade and accommodation sponsors Town Lodge Hotel Group and Zuurberg Mountain Village.

The Herald Cycle Tour 2026 medical sponsor is Relay EMS, infrastructure sponsors are Talisman Hire and K&W while the bicycle sponsors are Trek, Cyclo Pro and Thule.

Technical sponsors are Wayne Pheiffer and Coimbra, the print sponsor for the event is Goshawk and the security sponsor is Omega Security.

For more information, contact The Herald’s marketing manager, Berna Ulay-Walters, on ulayb@theherald.co.za

To enter, visit www.heraldcycletour.co.za.

Online entries close on Monday, February 2.