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 Foundation 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.

“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 as much as possible,” she explained.

She said that while their principle focus is on fundraising for CHOC, they happily support the race as a fundraiser for The Domino Foundation.

“The aQuellé Tour Durban has always supported lots of charities, and many riders ride for their own causes at the Tour Durban while they are supporting The Domino Foundation simply by entering the event,” she said.

“For us, fostering the concept that big sporting events can play a constructive roles in charities is important, and this is one event that is built around charity from the foundations upwards,” she added.

Entries for the 2022 aQuellé Tour Durban are open