In response to the global pandemic, locally and internally, mass events and exhibitions were postponed indefinitely and the Tour de Limpopo was not exempted. The decision to postpone one of the leading and highly contested road race in the continent was not an easy one, this was done in the interest of the safety of people, the sport and in support of the call by the President.
The Tour de Limpopo is a multi-day road cycling race that has been held annually in South Africa since 2018. It is part of Union Cycliste International (UCI) Africa Tour as a 2.2 event. It was planned to take place as a 5-day stage race from 20 to 24 May 2020, starting in Bela Bela going to Tzaneen and ending in Polokwane with a mass participation event on 24 May 2020.
“Currently we cannot do the things we love the most, such as travel, cycling and discovering new hidden tourism gems; but for now we stay at home so that we can get to enjoy doing the things we love most later on," said Ms Nomasonto Ndlovu CEO of LTA.
Ndlovu further said that a new date will be announced after the nation-wide lockdown in consultation with Cycling South Africa and the UCI. The 22 teams that had expressed interest in the race were dully informed and agreed to the postponement since some of them are based in Europe where the pandemic has hit hard.
"We continue to reiterate the call by the President for our people to stay at home and follow the preventative tips issued by the National Department of Health,” Nomasonto Ndlovu concluded.
