THE thousands of riders enjoying the full road closure at the aQuellé Tour Durban will have the added reassurance that a group of The Cows will be sweeping the back of every race to help the backmarkers get to the finish in time.
The fun-loving riders from The Cows spend their year involved in a multitude of sporting events to raise money for the CHOC Childhood Cancer Association of South Africa, and often volunteer to act as sweeps at major cycling races.
“Most riders or runners think of sweeps as the ogres. You never ever want to see a sweep. We are not ogres,” said Durbs Daisy, the local convener of The Cows.
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“We will have riders dressed in our black-and-white Cow gear, starting behind every race, and our job is to help riders to get to the finish. Sometimes, it is someone who is struggling, for whatever reason, or someone who has picked up a mechanical problem,” she explained.
“Often it is a young rider doing his or her first big race. We are there to lend a hand, push them up the hills and encourage them as much as possible,” she explained.
She said that while their principal focus is on fundraising for CHOC, they will happily support the race which is a fundraiser for The Domino Foundation.
Entries for this year’s aQuellé Tour Durban are open, and riders can enter at www.tourdurban.co.za.
