The organisers of the aQuellé Tour Durban announced this week that they will be extending the planned virtual rides on 25 and 26 July, to include two races using the Zwift platform, on the Wednesdays 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.

“It is exciting now to be able to stage two Zwift races for those riders who enjoy using that platform, and at the same time add our support to the elite riding community and the Phil Liggett Foundation,” he added.

The aQuellé Tour Durban is principally aimed at raising money for The Domino Foundation that helps poor communities in the greater Durban area and the cancellation of this years’ event has been a big blow for the NGO.

“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 hit hard by the COVID-19 lockdown,” said Shaun Tait, of the Domino Foundation.

These two new events, will also be added to the Support SA Talent Virtual Racing Series, and livestreamed on various social media channels. The broadcast will be presented by TradeRoot Active. An additional fundraising component has been included for the Phil Liggett Foundation, to further Support SA Talent. Traderoot Active is actively involved with this foundation, which is focussed on assisting SA athletes onto the world stage.

South African cyclists can enter the races as a team or as an individual on Zwift, with two separate racing categories: “A” Category (4w/kg or more); and, “B” Category (3.2w/kg – 3.9w/kg). Points will be awarded for the top 10 positions in both the Men’s (all Men – any age) and Women’s (all Women – any age).

We encourage a donation of R200 to the Phil Liggett Foundation, with 25% of this being donated to The Domino Foundation and 25% to a prize purse and the balance will be retained by the Phil Liggett Foundation to manage the event and raise funding to further support athletes selected to participate in national team and UCI Continental events. A virtual King of the Mountains and a Sprinters Jersey will also be awarded, based on specific hotspots.

The link to the Zwift event will be sent to cyclists wishing to participate once they have made their R200 or more donation here: https://www.fundyourpassion.co.za/product/support-sa-talent-for-athletes/

Wednesday 22 July
6pm – Zwift “London Pretzel” road race

Saturday 25 July
8am – Virtual MTB Ride

Sunday 26 July
8am – Virtual Road Races – 90km and 45km

Wednesday 29 July
6pm – Zwift “Greatest London Flat” road race