One of South Africa’s top mountain bike stage races, the TransCape, has received a major boost with the news that Liberty will be the title sponsor from 2018.
This is another breakthrough for the seven-stage race, which recently received Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) status and takes cyclists on a 614km challenge from Knysna to La Couronne Wine Farm in Franschhoek in February.
As a result of the title sponsorship, the TransCape will become the third leg of the Liberty Encounter Series.
Under the ASG Events banner, the three-day Winelands and Waterberg Encounters have become firm favourites on the South African racing calendar.
The Transcape, with its picturesque route across the Western Cape, will now be known as the Liberty TransCape
MTB Encounter, with Stanlib and Volvo as the presenting sponsors.
ASG Events chief Wynand de Villiers said they felt the TransCape was a perfect fit for the Encounter series and that it added an exciting dimension.
“We have an amazing relationship with Liberty on the Winelands and Waterberg Encounters and we have been chatting about adding a third event for some time. With the emergence of TransCape
and the way it has fast-tracked since 2015, we felt this was the way to go instead of trying to create a brand-new event.”
Mr De Villiers stressed that the partnership elevated the Encounter Series to what they had set out to do a few years ago – to create South Africa’s signature multi-stage mountain biking series.
The race gets under way on Sunday February 4 next year. Visit www.transcapemtb.co.za for more information.
