Company Announcement - Durban is gearing up for thrilling action at the Tsogo Sun Amashova Durban Classic 2015 on 18 October. Offering prize money of over R100 000, the race, which is one of South Africa’s largest cycling events, runs from Pietermaritzburg City Hall to Durban through spectacular scenery, ending at Masabalala Yengwa Avenue, with the prize giving at Tsogo Sun’s Suncoast.

The main Tsogo Sun Amashova race is 106km long, with two shorter ‘fun ride’ options of 35km,  which starts at Hillcrest and ends at Suncoast, and the 65km half challenge, which starts at Cato Ridge and ends at Suncoast. All three races will have full road closure. This is the second year that Tsogo Sun is the headline sponsor of the race and last year’s Tsogo Sun Amashova proved a huge success, drawing a record number of over 10 000 entries, and enticing South African’s to experience the thrill of the race while enjoying a family beach weekend away. “The Amashova has been going for 29 years – but the headline sponsorship by Tsogo Sun has given it a new lease on life, adding activities and appeal to the event and attracting the attention of riders from elsewhere in the country and even from Europe,” says Noëleen Bruton, Director of Marketing Group of Tsogo Sun. “We are  proud to be associated with this  fantastic KwaZulu-Natal tradition – and we anticipate pulling out all the stops to ensure that all our Amashova guests experience a brilliant weekend away.”

Once again, the fun Mini Shova for children will take place the day before the big race at Suncoast, with distances of 1km for 3-5 year olds and 5km for over 5s – giving the children the opportunity to share in the thrills of the weekend.

As the headline sponsor, Tsogo Sun has created a series of exciting accommodation packages at its different hotels in Durban and uMhlanga, and transport has been arranged by the race organisers to the main race start from Durban to Pietermaritzburg, as well as safekeeping for bikes both before and after the race. “Both the race and a weekend in Durban are exciting! This is a wonderful opportunity for riders and their families to make an adventure of the weekend, enjoying the challenge of the race, the magnificent countryside, as well as the attractions of the area – and there are many!” says Bruton.

Says Neil Fraser, Group Sales Director of Tsogo Sun, “This second Tsogo Sun Amashova Durban Classic underscores our belief in this cycle challenge as one that has enormous potential for growth and appeal to our target market. Cycling has grown to the point where it has now become ‘the new golf’ in South Africa. We believe our partnership with Amashova is giving the race the opportunity to grow to a cycle challenge that appeals to a far wider audience of novices, serious riders and families. We’re looking forward to our second bigger and better than ever Amashova – and to welcoming a host of new riders to the starting line – and of course to our many hotels in the area.”

Annie Batchelder, Race Director for the Tsogo Sun Amashova, says the Amashova is South Africa’s oldest classic cycle race. “It’s become a favourite for many of our top cyclists – and we’ve no doubt it will continue to grow in popularity and size with Tsogo Sun behind it.” Batchelder says the race has also contributed significantly to local communities with its social investment programmes, which includes having built a road safety bike park at Ethembeni School in Inchanga, and many other projects. Serious and casual riders from KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, and elsewhere in the country are encouraged to get their entries in for the Tsogo Sun Amashova as well as their bookings for great value accommodation package deals at Tsogo Sun’s hotels. All bookings can be done on www.shova.co.za

Tsogo Sun’s portfolio includes over 90 hotels and 14 casino and entertainment destinations throughout South Africa, Africa, the Seychelles and Abu Dhabi. The Group operates in all segments of the hotel market from Deluxe to Budget. For further information, visit tsogosun.com ,or on Facebook/TsogoSun.