There are just sixty spots available for one of the country’s most testing cycle rides.
The committed peloton from the 2017 edition of the Ride for MRP Foundation. Image MRP Foundation/ Tim Lubbe
It’s all systems go for the ninth annual Ride for MRP Foundation supported by Absa with entries now open for individuals and teams for the testing 606 km ride with purpose from Johannesburg to Durban from December 2-3, 2018.
Last year’s successful event saw a 50-strong peloton from diverse backgrounds including juniors, women, transformation cyclists and local sports champions along with Springbok Rugby Legends John Smit, Jeremy Thomson and Wayne Fyvie battle mental and physical fatigue, compounded by extreme heat, to complete the gruelling two-day ride for a worthy cause.
Kelvin Du Sart, Westville Cycle Club Chairman and Event Director, is confident that this year’s ride, with its new addition of a corporate team challenge, will be a resounding success:
“Firstly, a big thank you to our partners who helped us reach a record fundraising goal in 2017, a number that was a just a dream a few years ago. The 2017 event was another success story and we had some amazing riders in the peloton including Tiffany Keep, 2018 SA Junior Girl Road and Time Trial Champ and Travis Stedman, 2018 the SA U17 Boys Road and Time Trial Champ. The 2018 edition of the ride will have a new start venue at Secunda (Johannesburg) so we can accommodate the ever expanding peloton as well as the support teams who ensure the safety and well-being of the peloton.”
Due to the increased interest in the ride an exciting new element has been added to the 2018 edition, a corporate team challenge, that challenges captains of industry (CEO’s, MD’s Directors and business executives ) to gather three-man teams to participate in the endurance cycle challenge. With just ten team spots available, half the peloton will be made of team cyclists with the balance of the peloton being individual cyclists.
The courageous peloton all put their bodies on the line to raise funds and awareness for the MRP Foundation, a youth development organisation that has a vision to break the cycle of poverty and inequality in South Africa, a mission Karen Wells, Head of the MRP Foundation, is passionate about.
“We strive to empower young South Africans to reach their full potential through our high impact education and skills development programmes. Since 2008 we’ve trained over 22,000 previously unemployed youth through our work readiness programmes with over 11,000 of them finding employment in the retail and supply chain sectors and last year 43 000 learners and 64 schools were impacted by our MRP Foundation Schools.”
Last year’s edition raised an incredible R870,000 for the MRP Foundation, just shy of the One Million Rand fundraising supertarget. This year’s fundraising super target has been set at Two Million Rand, with proceeds going into the MRP Foundation’s education and skills development programmes.
Interested cyclists and teams are advised to enter immediately before the limited number of 60 entries are reached. In addition to the R5,000 entry fee, each rider commits to raising a minimum of R8,000 for the MRP Foundation. Enter online here.
You can help us continue raising funds by donating here.
