A 12-member FAW Trucks cycling team, sponsored by FAW South Africa, successfully completed the gruelling 25th Coronation Double Century (CDC) cycle race on 25 November this year.
Owned by the Pedal Power Association, the annual CDC is the grand-daddy of endurance road cycling team events in South Africa, in which 250 teams of 12 riders unite to ride the challenging 202km route, which begins and ends in Swellendam in the Western Cape.
Vernon Rudman, Dealer Principal at FAW Cape Town was the Captain of the FAW Trucks team, riding alongside five ladies and six other men. Competing against 3 000 cyclists, the FAW Trucks team managed to complete the event in 7 hours and 40 minutes, which saw each team member receive a finisher’s medal and a Charles Milner medal.
The Charles Milner medal is awarded to each full team of 12 riders that finishes within 10 minutes of the team’s first rider and inside the event’s allocated 10 and-a-half hours. Being a team event, a minimum of six riders in a team have to finish the race in order to receive team finish recognition.
FAW SA was the only commercial vehicle brand to sponsor a corporate cycling team in the CDC this year. It organised a pre-event dinner for the FAW Trucks team, supplied their bold blue riding kit and took care of the team’s entrance fee. Fuel used by a FAW support vehicle was also sponsored by FAW SA.
FAW branding was placed at the two rest stops along the route, while a FAW branded gazebo was erected at the finish line. A FAW 35.340FD truck, provided by Rudman’s Cape Town FAW dealership, was also strategically parked along the route to create maximum brand awareness.
Televised, and with numerous high-profile companies participating, the CDC is a great branding opportunity for corporates like FAW SA. “Twelve people riding in unison makes a big impact,” says Rudman. “The FAW brand was highly visible and we received lots of positive comments from fellow riders and spectators,” he concludes.
FAW Vehicle Manufacturers SA would like to congratulate each participant of the CDC cycle race and in particular the FAW Trucks cycling team for their splendid performance.
