Cape Town - Raising as much money as possible for a good cause has taken centre stage in the lead-up to the 2016 Cape Town Cycle Tour, whose charity portal has managed to raise R26 000 since its launch last week.
And with only one more day to go, people are encouraged to pledge their donations.
The charity portal offers the nearly 35 000 registered cyclists an opportunity to make every kilometre count by raising funds for a good cause.
undefinedPeople can make a donation to the cause of their choice by sponsoring a registered fundracer.
Cyclists to look out for this year include Nolan Hoffman of Team Telkom, who is aiming for his third consecutive win, and seven-time champion Anriëtte Schoeman.
Celebrities saddling up for this year’s Cycle Tour include model and TV presenter Masego “Maps” Mopanyane, model and photographer Josie Borain and well-known cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro.
Local personality Ryan O’Connor won’t be cycling, but is supporting the Children’s Hospital Trust.
One of the charity portal’s well-known fundracers is Western Cape Economic Opportunities MEC Alan Winde, who will be racing for the Velokhaya Life Cycling Academy.
He has raised R2 500 so far.
Other fundracers include Momentum’s head of sponsorship, Carel Bosman, who managed to raise R10 000 for the Tshwane Urban Riders, Matchboxology’s Cal Bruns, who raised R5 800 for the Children’s Hospital Trust, and athlete Chantel Rall, who raised R5 500 for the Pink Drive.
The idea for the portal was to set the Cycle Tour apart as not just the world’s largest timed cycle race, but also as the world’s largest fundraising race.
The online charity portal was designed for registered riders to create their own custom fundracer profile on the site and select one of the five charities to raise funds for.
Fundracers then appeal to friends, family and the public to sponsor their ride by inviting them to “like” the campaign page through both Facebook and Twitter. All cyclists have to do to get involved is sign up and create a profile on the website.
They need not spend a cent as the site does all the work.
Spotted at the @CTCycleTour expo ... let's hope we don't have this problem on Sunday riders! #ctcycletour #capetown pic.twitter.com/1hQhC3tsZ5
— Bicycling SA (@Bicycling_SA) March 3, 2016
Each fundracer profile page is updated to reflect donations made by friends or family, with the cumulative total being ranked in real time on the site’s leader board.
Donations made by friends and family in support of the fundracers can be made directly to the chosen rider’s profile via EFT, credit and debit cards, and BitCoin through the secure payment partner PayFast.
People wanting to donate can visit the Cycle Tour fundracer’s website at ctctfundracers.co.za.
This year’s top three fundraising winners will be announced in the Cape Argus alongside the race winners.
Cape Argus