Former champion Josh van Wyk and David Maree are the outright favourites for the 124th staging of the Paarl Boxing Day Track challenge, which takes place at the Faure Street Stadium on 26 December.
That’s the opinion of seven-time champion Nolan Hoffman, who will also line up in the prestigious meeting. “Also, don’t write off HB Kruger. HB has been staying in Paarl for a few years now and when he gets on a bike, whether it’s for a road race, mountain bike race or on the track, he is very dangerous.”
Hoffman downplays his own chances of securing an eighth victory, which has been illuding him for five years now. “With my role as mentor of the Aluwani team I have fewer chances, but don’t write me off. I will be there. Last year was a disaster, so this year I want to make an impact.”
This weekend will see a dress rehearsal of sorts when the Joburg Grand Prix takes place during which Hoffman, Van Wyk and Maree will get a good indication of each other’s form for Boxing Day.
The Team Aluwani captain has been entertaining capacity crowds in the Faure Street Stadium for two decades and he has won the event a record seven times during an illustrious career spanning 20 years.
The past four years, however, have seen a changing of the guard with victories going to HB Kruger, Bernard Esterhuizen, Josh van Wyk and Belgian Jonas Rickaert. Rickaert recently underwent surgery and won’t be back to defend his title.
Hoffman, who won the Cape Town Cycle Tour last year and the Montecasino Classico earlier this year, is a true icon of the sport. “I have so much respect for Boxing Day and I am really looking forward to the event again,” he said. “As always, I will give my best.”
The 35-year-old Hoffman holds the record for the most Boxing Day victories with seven, followed by Dirk Binneman’s five. Binneman won in 1940 and again from 1942-1945. Hoffman won his first title in 2004. He won again in 2008 and then from 2011 to 2013 and in 2015 and 2016.
What makes Hoffman’s dominance even more special is that he was born in Franschhoek, only 25 km from the Faure Street Stadium in Paarl where he mesmerised track cycling fans for so many years.
The picturesque Boland town of Paarl is an enigma in the sporting world, mainly for two reasons. It hosts the world’s biggest school’s rugby derby between Paarl Gymnasium and Paarl Boys High, and it also presents one of the world’s largest track cycling events on Boxing Day.
These events are revered worldwide in their respective sporting codes. You might be the best in the world in a certain track cycling event, but it doesn’t mean much to Paarl’s faithful crowd if you’re second best in Paarl!
The Boland is undoubtedly the cradle of track cycling in South-Africa and has produced some of finest sprinters the sport has seen.
Another local professional, Clint Hendriks, has come very close, but he hasn’t managed to secure a Boxing Day title. Hendriks claimed a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games Road Race in Australia and has won numerous national classic road titles. He has also represented South Africa internationally on various occasions.
The Paarl Boxing Day Track Challenge is presented by City of Drakenstein and it is the oldest event in all forms of cycling in the world in existence. The meeting first took place in 1897.
The meeting, which boasts a total prize fund of R100 000, concludes with the famous 25-Mile and the winner of the final event is regarded as the winner of the day. In addition to the generous prize purse, the floating Minnaar Trophy, which dates to 1908, is also up for grabs.
The 25-Mile is special, says meeting spokesman Wynand de Villiers. “The crowd is left in awe as riders complete 87 laps of the track. Tactics unfold as riders try to gain an advantage during the race, which takes approximately 1 hour to complete. It’s scintillating stuff!”
The past winner’s list at Boxing Day includes all the famous sprinters the sport has produced in South Africa.
Well-known riders’ names who appear on the Minnaar Trophy include Dimension Data team principle Douglas Ryder and SuperSport commentator Andrew McLean. Gary Beneke, Willie Engelbrecht and “The Idol” Alan van Heerden also claimed titles.
Cycling South Africa honorary life president, the late Gotty Hansen, secured victories in 1959 and 1965 while Chris Willemse won the title in 1977.
Willemse recalls: “To us, winning Boxing Day was as if we won a world title. If you were from the Boland region it was even more important than winning at World’s. My Boxing Day victory was one of the highlights of my career,” said Willemse.
Tickets are now on sale at https://itickets.co.za/events/467690
