Two days of gravel in the Tankwa, capped at around a hundred riders, with art installations, a fire ceremony and refreshment stops staged like theatre. Much of the photography in our gallery was shot here.
The Tankwa Karoo is the emptiest landscape within reach of Cape Town. Flat brown plains, the Roggeveld escarpment on the horizon, the R355 running dead straight for two hundred kilometres, and almost nobody. Jeremy Crowder built a bicycle race there that behaves like nothing else on the South African calendar. It is timed by segment rather than gun to gun, so you can race the bits you want and ride the rest. The refreshment stops are staged as installations. There is an art burn. Everyone camps at Tankwa Tented Camp and eats together, and the field is deliberately held at about a hundred riders rather than grown.
Straight from the organiser, checked 13 August 2026. Always confirm on their own site before you plan around a date.
“The Tankwa is a leveler. We are all in this together.”Jeremy Crowder, Tanqua Kuru, in their own words
Mapmaker Collective does not organise, own or sell entries to this race. We are a Cape Town cycling tour operator who rides it, admires the people who put it on, and builds trips around it. Entries are handled entirely by the organiser on the links above.
A good deal of the photography in our gallery was shot at Tanqua Kuru, so this one is close to home. Jeremy Crowder runs it and entries are his, on the link above. He has been clear that he has no interest in growing the field, and we think he is right. If you want to do it, talk to us about the drive up the R355, tyres for that gravel and what a Tankwa night actually feels like. Some day we would love to build a proper Tankwa journey that runs into it.
Late May. The 2026 edition ran on 29 and 30 May and the 2027 dates had not been announced as of 13 August 2026. Entries have historically opened around September.
The Long option is 174km over two days, 113km then 61km. The Medium is 115km over two days. Timing is by segment rather than gun to gun, so you race the sections you want to and ride the rest.
Tankwa Tented Camp on the R355, the Ceres to Calvinia road, in the Tankwa Karoo. The start, finish and camp are all in the same place.
Through Entry Ninja when the listing opens. In 2026 it was R8,500 per rider, R3,500 for camping and R7,500 for a non-riding partner. The field is deliberately held at about 100 riders. Mapmaker Collective does not sell entries.