Cycle Tour riders face winds up to 75km/h

Cape Town - Riders in Sunday's Cape Town Cycle Tour will face winds gusting up to 75km/h along the 109km route, according to the SA Weather Service.

The first stretch from the start on the Grand Parade in the Cape Town City Bowl to Muizenberg will see entrants enjoy partly cloudy overhead conditions with temperatures around the 17 degree Celsius mark early morning.

The Muizenberg to Simon's Town section will see similar overhead conditions and temperatures, but a significant increase in winds which are expected to gust between 60-70km/h.

All three of the Simon's Town to Cape Point, Cape Point to Kommetjie and Kommetjie to Chapman's Peak sections will see significant steady winds of around 55km/h, with gusts up to 75km/h.

A slight 'respite' awaits in the run-in to the finish line in Green Point with winds dropping to 40-45km/h up Suikerbossie with a maximum afternoon temperature of 26 degrees expected.

The 2017 race was cancelled on the day due to extreme weather. Wind speeds in excess of 100km/h in addition to fires on part of the route  saw event organisers cancel after the first round of cyclists had started the race. The threat of possible protest action along a section of the route also increased safety concerns.

A final call on what would be the 41st edition of the race will only be made on Sunday morning.

Winds not looking great for the Cape Town Cycle Tour tomorrow (10 March 2019). Here is the forecast. pic.twitter.com/nTnv6JZrbS

— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) March 9, 2019