Butler rules the 30th edition of the Dis-Chem Ride for Sight challenge
Reynard Butler in the middle triumphantly lifting the trophy while flanked by Nolan Hoffman on the left and Shameeg Salie after completing this year’s Dis-Chem Ride for Sight cycle challenge.
It took Reynard Butler from team ProTouch 2:39:55 to conquer the gruelling 116km during this years’ 30th edition of the annual Dis-Chem Ride for Sight cycle challenge.
The Boksburg Stadium was a buzz of excitement on February 18, where a strong presence of the country’s top cyclists gathered to compete and contribute towards a good cause.
The 116 km Super Classic event saw numerous attempted breaks from the main bunch and larger gaps were closed within the first few kilometres. With 10km to go, the last two break away riders were caught by the peloton, which lead to a group sprint. Butler then took the lead from Nolan Hoffman and Shameeg Salie and secured a win for himself.
Carla Oberholzer won the ladies event, after she completed the challenge in a time of 3:40:07. Jo van de Winkel (female veteran) was second and Mandy De Beer third. The strong wind and high temperatures proved difficult and the female riders struggled to make a break. Oberholzer’s teammate Heidi Dalton, set up the win close to the finish.
The purpose of the challenge is to restore the gift of sight and all proceeds from the event will go towards finding treatment for retinal blindness.
The event has raised over R10 million over the last 30 years to fund genetic research at the University of Cape Town. Young South Africans affected by retinal degenerative disorders such as Retinitis Pigmentosa, Stargardt disease and allied conditions stand to gain from promising clinical trials that are treating these rare but devastating forms of vision loss.
