Ride Joburg 2026 weather: what race day will likely feel like
The short answer
Race day at Ride Joburg (Sunday 22 November 2026) is usually warm and dry in the morning, about 20° at a 7:00 start and 25° by the finish. In 10 years of records the wind was steady from the north, behind riders on the way south and in their faces up the M1 and home to Kyalami.
Ride Joburg, in past years the 947 Ride Joburg, is on Sunday 22 November 2026: 96.1 km south through Johannesburg to Soweto and back up the M1 to a finish at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit. Here's what race day has usually felt like, section by section, for a rider in the middle of the field.
What will the weather be like at Ride Joburg 2026?
Warm, mostly dry, and a steady north wind. In the records, a rider in batch L, starting at 06:59, began at about 20° and finished at about 25°, before the day's high of about 27°. Windline's engine rated the whole ride Good on 5 days in 10, Fair on 4 and Tough on 1.
The wind is the story. It usually blew from the north at 12 to 15 km/h, from about the same direction every morning. That makes it a tailwind on the way south and a headwind on the way home.
| Section | Where | Wind | The wind’s effect | Air | Rated, days in 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · 06:59km 0–18 | Kyalami to Bryanston | 9 km/hfrom the north-east | about 16% less effortHeadwind 8%, tailwind 55% of the way | 20° | |
| 2 · 07:42km 18–34 | Jan Smuts Avenue into the city | 12 km/hfrom the north | about 28% less effortHeadwind 7%, tailwind 72% of the way | 21° | |
| 3 · 08:21km 34–55 | The M1 south to Soweto | 15 km/hfrom the north | about 7% more effortHeadwind 30%, tailwind 28% of the way | 20° | |
| 4 · 09:12km 55–64 | Main Reef Road back to the city | 16 km/hfrom the north | about 5% less effortHeadwind 13%, tailwind 31% of the way | 20° | |
| 5 · 09:33km 64–82 | The M1 north | 15 km/hfrom the north | about 36% more effortHeadwind 58%, tailwind 6% of the way | 24° | |
| 6 · 10:17km 82–96.1 | Woodmead to the Kyalami circuit | 15 km/hfrom the north | about 33% more effortHeadwind 54%, tailwind 4% of the way | 25° |
Where does the wind usually help, and where does it hurt?
It helps for the first 34 km and hurts for the last 32. On the hardest 30 km, from about km 61 to the finish, the wind added 40% or more effort on about 5 days in 10.
Start and finish · KyalamiBryanstonJohannesburgSowetoSandton123456Historic- Strong tailwind
- Tailwind
- Side-on or light
- Headwind
- Strong headwind
Each stretch is coloured by how often the wind there was a headwind or a tailwind, at the hour a batch L rider gets there, on the days around 22 November in 2015–2024 (Historic). The numbers are the six sections below.
Weather: contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information (ERA5). Route line: Ride Joburg’s published 2026 GPX (simplified). Map: OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Green is the way south, from Kyalami through Bryanston and down Jan Smuts Avenue: the wind was behind you on most days. Red is the M1 north and the run home to Kyalami, straight into it. The loop to Soweto and back sits in between, mostly side-on.
What is each section likely to feel like?
Each section with its usual race morning, hour by hour, timed for batch L at about 24.8 km/h.
1. Kyalami to Bryanston
An easy start, at about 20°. The wind was behind the riders on about 7 days in 10, and the section was rated Good on 9.
- Wind
- 9 km/h from the north-eastTailwind gives 10% or more back on 7 days in 10
- Effort
- about 16% less effortOn the middle day of the records
- Gusts
- 28 km/h39 km/h or more on 1 day in 10
- Air
- 20°Up to 21° by the end of the section
- Rain
- RarelyRain of 1 mm or more while riding it
The usual hour along the section on race morning: air °C, wind and gusts km/h, and the share of hours with rain. An arrow shows the way the wind usually blows. The hours a 24.8 km/h rider is here are marked.
2. Jan Smuts Avenue into the city
The fastest part of the day: heading south with the wind behind on about 8 days in 10, which usually took about 28% off the effort. Enjoy it, but save something for later.
- Wind
- 12 km/h from the northTailwind gives 10% or more back on 8 days in 10
- Effort
- about 28% less effortOn the middle day of the records
- Gusts
- 35 km/h46 km/h or more on 1 day in 10
- Air
- 21°Up to 21° by the end of the section
- Rain
- RarelyRain of 1 mm or more while riding it
3. The M1 south to Soweto
Out to Soweto on the highways. The wind is more side-on here, gusting to about 36 km/h by mid-morning, and this section was rated Good on 7 days in 10.
- Wind
- 15 km/h from the northHeadwind adds 15% or more effort on 2 days in 10
- Effort
- about 7% more effortOn the middle day of the records
- Gusts
- 36 km/h46 km/h or more on 1 day in 10
- Air
- 20°Up to 21° by the end of the section
- Rain
- RarelyRain of 1 mm or more while riding it
4. Main Reef Road back to the city
A short run east along Main Reef Road, mostly across the wind. It's about 20° and usually fine, rated Good on 7 days in 10.
- Wind
- 16 km/h from the northTailwind gives 10% or more back on 4 days in 10
- Effort
- about 5% less effortOn the middle day of the records
- Gusts
- 35 km/h46 km/h or more on 1 day in 10
- Air
- 20°Up to 22° by the end of the section
- Rain
- RarelyRain of 1 mm or more while riding it
5. The M1 north
The heart of the race. Heading north up the M1, the wind was in the riders' faces on about 8 days in 10, adding about 36% effort on the middle day. It was rated Tough on 5 days in 10. Ride it in a group.
- Wind
- 15 km/h from the northHeadwind adds 15% or more effort on 8 days in 10
- Effort
- about 36% more effortOn the middle day of the records
- Gusts
- 37 km/h47 km/h or more on 1 day in 10
- Air
- 24°Up to 25° by the end of the section
- Rain
- RarelyRain of 1 mm or more while riding it
6. Woodmead to the Kyalami circuit
More of the same to the finish: a headwind on about 9 days in 10, and about 25° by now. The section was rated Good on only 1 day in 10, and the race finishes inside the Kyalami circuit.
- Wind
- 15 km/h from the northHeadwind adds 15% or more effort on 9 days in 10
- Effort
- about 33% more effortOn the middle day of the records
- Gusts
- 36 km/h47 km/h or more on 1 day in 10
- Air
- 25°Up to 25° by the end of the section
- Rain
- RarelyRain of 1 mm or more while riding it
What should riders pack for race day?
Summer kit, sunscreen, and a plan for the headwind home. The organiser's road race page has the batches, the route GPX and the water points. From the weather records:
- Summer kit, no layers. It was about 20° at the start, and about 16° at dawn.
- Sunscreen and two bottles. It reaches about 25° by the finish, with 8 water points on the course.
- A light rain jacket in a pocket. It rained on about half the days, though mostly in the late afternoon, after the race.
- Legs for the last 32 km. Spend less on the fast run south, and find a group for the M1 north.
Supporters at Kyalami can expect about 25° and sun by late morning.
When does the real forecast open?
Ten days before the race, in the Windline app: on 12 November. Load the route with your own speed and batch, and Windline rates the day Good, Fair or Tough from the forecast, with the wind on every stretch at the hour you'll get there. From then on, trust the forecast over this preview.
How did we work this out?
The route was ridden again on every day from a week before to a week after 22 November, in each year from 2015 to 2024: 150 days. Each ride followed the organiser's published GPX from batch L's 06:59 start at a steady 24.8 km/h, on that day's hourly Copernicus ERA5 weather. Windline's engine, the same one the apps use, rated the ride and each section. The section names come from the streets the GPX follows, in OpenStreetMap.
ERA5's grid cells are about 25 km across, and two cover this route. Buildings, cuttings and the city's own warmth don't show, and the GPX has no heights, so the climbs aren't in the timing. Historic weather, not a forecast.
Sources: Ride Joburg's road race page, with the date, the Kyalami finish, the distance, climbing, water points, batch start times and the route GPX, and its home page; ERA5 hourly time series (Hersbach et al., 2020). Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information (2026). Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.
Questions
When is Ride Joburg 2026?
Sunday 22 November 2026. The 96.1 km road race takes in the M1 highway and the Nelson Mandela Bridge, and finishes at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit. Batches start from 06:26 to 07:50.
Is Ride Joburg windy?
Usually only moderately, but the wind is steady. In 10 years of records it blew from the north at 12 to 15 km/h through the morning, so the way south was usually wind-assisted and the M1 north was a headwind on about 8 days in 10.
How hot is Ride Joburg?
Warm, but rarely hot while you ride. A batch L rider started at about 20° and finished at about 25°, and 30° or more during the ride was rare. The day's high was usually about 27°.
Does it rain on Ride Joburg day?
On about half the days around race day, 1 mm or more fell, mostly in the late afternoon, when the chance of rain in an hour rose to about 1 in 5. Rain while riding was rare, on fewer than 1 day in 10.
When will the Ride Joburg forecast be available?
The real forecast opens 10 days before the race in the Windline app, on 12 November. Until then, this preview is historic weather from 10 years of Copernicus ERA5 records, not a forecast.
