KZN development stars eye virtual aQuellé Tour Durban

CYCLING clubs across the country are bracing themselves to take on the virtual aQuellé Tour Durban on Saturday, 25 July and Sunday, 26 July.

The event is an important annual fundraiser for the Domino Foundation that helps poor communities in the greater Durban area, and the prospect of cancelling the event was a blow for the trailblazing NGO.

Organisers also recently announced they have extended the planned virtual rides on the weekend to include two races using the Zwift platform on the Wednesday before and after the mass participation virtual rides.

These two events, on 22 and 29 July, will also be added to the Support SA Talent Virtual Racing Series and presented by TradeRoot Active.

“We have identified two routes for those interested in racing,” said event director, Alec Lenferna.

“For the climbers, the London Pretzel, a hilly 55,6km with 531m of elevation, and for the sprinters, the Greatest London Flat, a flat route with two laps totalling 47km and 320m of elevation. A core of our riding community have opted to support the virtual races by simply following a live video stream, as not everyone has access to the Zwift technology,” he added.

Three rising stars from the KZN Cycling development programme will be part of the global community riding the virtual race as the race on the global platform Zwift takes them a step closer to realising their riding dreams.

Thabiso Zindela, 16, and Unathi Nxumalo, 18, from Mpumalanga township in Hammarsdale will join Lindokhuhle Ngcobo, 17, from the Dusi Valley riding on specialised static bikes at the Absolute Motion training studio in Hilton, working with KZN Cycling’s High-Performance director Johann Wykerd.

Lenferna said the aQuellé Tour Durban is fundamentally about #Ride4Good and raising money for the Domino Foundation who have stepped up their support for communities significantly that are really battling with the effects of lockdown.

“We felt that we had to find an alternative way to support them as the greater cycling community as we do by riding this great event every year. It is a pity that we are not going to be able to stage the event in its traditional format this year, but circumstances are what they are at this time and we are already looking to the future and await the opportunity in 2021 and beyond.”

On Saturday, 25 July, riders will take part in a virtual ride on the new mountain bike courses, and on Sunday, 26 July, riders can take on the road race by following the online live streaming show that will offer them a rider’s view of the popular M4 course as it was raced last year.

Riders are encouraged to follow the live streaming on the event Facebook page while they take part on their rollers or static bikes, or simply to engage in any form of exercise like riding in their communities during the streaming show.
Lenferna confirmed that all entries already posted for the 2020 event will carry forward to the 2021 races at no extra charge, or should people wish to donate their 2020 entry fee to the cause.

Shaun Tait of the Domino Foundation said, “We have an amazing relationship with aQuellé Tour Durban. This comes at a time when we are working hard with a number of community organisations to get desperately needed aid into the homes of Durban families that have been hard hit by lockdown.

Entries for the event, with a minimum of R50, but allowing participants to make any larger donation, will be taken via the links provided on the Tour Durban website.

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