Support Team Information

There will be bike mechanics on the Old Mutual Wealth Double Century route that will only be able to provide basic mechanical assistance to cyclists. It is up to each cyclist to ensure they have enough emergency spares spread across their team members to manage any mechanical trouble. This year, there will also be 4 mechanical support vehicles, kindly sponsored by Old Mutual Wealth, strategically placed at locations along the route.

Team Support and Neutral Zones

There are two neutral zones on the Old Mutual Wealth Double Century route:

1. From the intersection of the R60/R62 to the end of the Ashton Team Support Zone
2. Bonnievale Team Support Zone

How does it work?

1. Ashton Team Support Zone

The neutral zone will start as you exit Cogmanskloof Pass. Unlike the last few years, the pass will be a timed part of the race.. Riders will cross a timing mat just before the intersection of the R60/R62 to “clock out”.

From here, you will have up to 40 minutes of neutral time to traverse the neutral zone through the town of Ashton and meet up with your support vehicle and refuel in the Team Support Zone. 

The team’s time will stop once the team’s sixth cyclist crosses the timing mat at the beginning of the neutral zone and will start again when the first cyclist of the team crosses the timing mat at the end of the Team Support Zone in Ashton. Zandvliet Road is closed to public vehicles. Only front-and-back accredited support vehicles will be allowed access.

2. Bonnievale Team Support Zone

The Team Support Zone is on the R317, approximately 2.7km from Bonnievale Cellars. Total time allocated from the start of the Team Support Zone to the end is up to 30 minutes. This time will NOT count towards the team’s total riding time if all rules are adhered to. The team’s time will stop once the team’s sixth cyclist crosses the timing mat at the beginning of the Team Support Zone on the R317 and will start again when the first cyclist of the team crosses the timing mat at the end of the Team Support Zone.

This section of the road is closed to public vehicles. Only front-and-back accredited support vehicles will be allowed access. It will take approximately 30 minutes for the team’s support vehicles to get from the Ashton Team Support Zone to the Bonnievale Team Support Zone. Furthermore, it will take the fastest teams approximately one hour to get from Ashton to Bonnievale.

Support Vehicle Rules and Etiquette

• Cyclists may only feed from their team support vehicle at the two Team Support Zones. It is the responsibility of the Team Captain as well as the team support crew to know these areas. Teams WILL face disqualification should a support crew be found assisting their team anywhere on the route but at the two designated Team Support Zones. This rule will be strictly enforced. 
• Team support vehicles may not travel on any part of the route other than along designated support vehicle routes.

• Teams may only have one accredited support vehicle displaying front-and-back accreditation (a vehicle sticker corresponding to the team’s number) at each of the Team Support Zones. There is different coloured accreditation for each of the Zones. Teams may have two different vehicles – each attending a Team Support Zone, but the two vehicles are not permitted in the same zone. This accreditation can be found in the Team Driver pack, collected at registration.
• Support vehicles need to park off the road in their designated parking area.
• Team support crew must take note of their team’s race number as the parking areas are allocated according to each team’s race number.
• 10 teams are allocated per parking area, you may park anywhere within your number range.
• Please keep the road clear whenever possible.
• Obey the rules of the road.
• Be respectful to other road users.
• Please do not leave any litter behind!

• Support Vehicle Route
• All team support vehicles must follow the designated routes.
• Maps and directions will be included in the race registration packs.
• It is extremely important that we have the correct details for your team support vehicle.

Team support drivers must save the following emergency numbers in their phones for race day:

Emergency Number:                         087 820 5605

To report an emergency

When calling with an emergency on race day, please ensure you have the following information available:

• Race number and name of the cyclist involved in the incident.
• The most accurate location possible – i.e. cyclist’s KM reading, street names, specific landmarks, GPS coordinates

You MUST remain at the location of the incident until help arrives!