01 Sep 2011 Gear up for 2012 Cycle Tour and make a difference
Entries for the 35th annual Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour officially opened today at 13h00, and at times drew 30 entries per minute during the first hour. The iconic event – the largest timed cycling event in the world – will take place on Sunday 11 March 2012.
David Bellairs, CEO of the Cape Town Cycle Tour Trust announced a key departure for the 2012 event: Individual online entries will be limited to 30 000, while the rest is opened to charities.
“Having seen the success achieved by large international sporting events like the London and New York Marathon who allow charities to use their events for fundraising, the Cape Town Cycle Tour Trust decided this year to encourage registered charities and social investment projects to enter by purchasing premium rate charity bonds for participation.”
Explaining how the charity bonds will work, Bellairs said a limited number of 5,000 entries will be made available to charities and corporates in bonds, with one bond containing ten entries . These will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis to charities and corporates applying to the Cape Town Cycle Tour Trust.
“The great benefit to charities that purchase bonds is that they will be permitted to “late enter” the names of their bond participants up until the 13th January 2012 – which is only eight weeks prior to the event . Once the limited 30,000 individual online entries have been received, we will direct people to charities who will use the bonds to raise money for a worthy cause,” he said.
The Cycle Tour has grown from humble beginnings, attracting a few hundred participants in 1978, into the iconic international event it is today. It is recognised as the world’s largest individually timed cycle race and annually registers on average over 35,000 cyclists from around the world.
“For many years now the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle tour has generated millions of Rands for cycling development and charitable projects supported by the Pedal Power Association and the Rotary Club of Claremont, as well as various other Rotary Clubs that are involved in the organisation of the event. It makes complete sense that we use the popularity of the Cycle Tour to encourage participants to use the event as a platform to give back to their communities,” Bellairs said.
Amongst others, the PPA – who started the Cycle Tour 35 years ago together with the Rotary Club of Claremont – uses profits received from the Cycle Tour to fund cycling-related projects. In this way the Association has allocated some R1 850 000 to support 38 cycling-related projects over the next year, bringing PPA’s funding spent on cycling projects over the last four years to a total of just under R7 million spread across 120 projects. Read more.
Naming rights sponsors Cape Argus and Pick n Pay have both wholeheartedly endorsed the changes to encourage greater charity involvement in the event.
Editor of The Cape Argus, Gasant Abader said the newspaper is delighted with the news that the Cycle Tour is going to further enhance its commitment to charity. “The Cape Town Cycle Tour Trust has already done so much over more than three decades in communities that really need help and we are 100% behind its amazing efforts. The Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour is the perfect opportunity for corporates to do their bit but also engage with their staff in a way that promotes a healthy lifestyle in the form of cycling. “Here at the Cape Argus we believe that the move to benefit even more charities befits the legacy of this great event, which started out as a small race designed to draw awareness about cycling safety and has grown into a global phenomenon.”
Said Bronwen Rohland, Pick n Pay’s Marketing and Sustainability Director: “Pick n Pay has been a proud sponsor of the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour for the past seventeen years and in that time has seen it grow into the biggest event of its kind – a position all South Africans can be proud of. Pick n Pay became a sponsor of this incredible event because the values adopted by the organising body, the Cape Town Cycle Tour Trust, mirror our own. A number of charities and service organisation projects benefit from the money raised by the Cycle Tour and it has always been our policy to give strong support to South African communities. The Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour also gives us a great opportunity to be involved in the most family-oriented event of its kind anywhere in South Africa.”
How to enter
Online entries can be submitted at the Cycle Tour website at www.cycletour.co.za.
To ease your entry process, ensure that you have the following information available:
- Your ID or passport
- A valid credit card
- Your medical aid details and membership number
- An emergency contact number
- If you are a paid-up PPA member, your PPA membership number will automatically be picked up by the entry system and you will automatically receive your PPA discount. If you have not yet renewed your PPA membership (or if you wish to join PPA now), you can do so when you enter the Cycle Tour, and still qualify for the PPA discounted Cycle Tour entry fee