The Dis-Chem Ride for Sight is one of the most popular and enduring cycle events on the local road cycling calendar.
It has consistently raised funds to fight retinal blindness for the last quarter of a century.
The 26th event will be held at the Boksburg City Stadium, Jubilee Road, Boksburg on February 16 and Dis-Chem Pharmacies are once again committed to making the event a huge success.
Over the past 25 years the event has raised millions of rands for research into retinal degenerative conditions such as Retinitis Pigmentosa [RP], Macular Degeneration [MD] and dozens of other rare and devastating forms of retinal vision loss.
Retina South Africa has pledged all the proceeds from the event to bring international clinical trials to South Africans.
This will bring the hope of a sighted future to thousands of young South Africans affected by these genetic eye conditions.
The entire organising committee of the Ride are volunteers and with the help of Dis-Chem Pharmacies and the Ekurhuleni Metro, the costs of staging the event are kept to a minimum.
Race secretary Claudette Medefindt stated: “We don’t compromise on safety, security and the cyclists’ well-being, but with the help of our sponsors and the hundreds of volunteers who make this event happen, we are able to contribute significant funding to genetic eye condition research in South Africa.”
For the novice cyclist and competitive juniors the shorter vita-thion 62km Challenge, which takes place in conjunction with the longer 116km event, offers all the thrills of the longer event with far less sweat and tears.
On-line entries for the event are now open and will close on February 4.
Portals can be accessed on the Dis-Chem website www.dis-chem.co.za or at https://cycleevents.co.za/dis-chem-ride-for-sight-2014/.
The event has been won by many of South Africa’s top cyclists, including Arran Brown, Christoff van Heerden, Nicholas White, Malcolm Lange, Andrew McLean and amongst the fairer sex by Cherise Taylor, Ronelle van Wyk, Chrissie Viljoen and Anke Erlank.
The event is a qualifier for both the 2014 Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge and the 2015 Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle tour.
It is also perfectly positioned for Argus Cycle Tour participants to use as a long training ride – according to the pros, the time one achieves this event in is a good indicator of the time one should achieve at the Argus.
The organisers are committed to keeping the entry fee as low as possible to ensure that as many cyclists as possible are able to participate on the day and by so doing, to make their contributions to this worthwhile fundraising cause.
Medefindt also encourages disabled cyclists to participate.
The organisers would like to caution people living near the stadium in Boksburg South, those in Alrode, Heidelberg and Carnival City areas to allow extra time to exit the area.
They are expecting traffic disruption and apologise for any inconvenience to residents.
Medefindt appealed to the public for their co-operation – “Please offer us your support for all the proceeds go directly to research to find treatments for retinal blinding conditions and all helpers on the day are volunteers.”
For more information, contact Retina South Africa on share call 0860 595959.
