Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Cyclists riding for leukaemia sufferers
WHEN an exhausted yet elated group of cyclists entered Cape Town Stadium yesterday, it was to loud cheers and more than a few tears.
And both were welldeserved after the group of 10 athletes and their support staff had ended a 1 500km, eight-day trek, cycling from Johannesburg to Cape Town. But it’s not over yet, because tomorrow they will ride the Cape Town Cycle Tour, all in aid of the Sunflower Fund which raises awareness and funds for people with leukaemia and other lifethreatening blood disorders.
Cecilia Hiemstra a competitor in the ride, dubbed the Tour of Light, is fighting her own battle with leukaemia, with her last chemotherapy session just three weeks ago.
“We are riding to assist The Sunflower Fund in growing the South African Bone Marrow Registry (SABMR),” she said.
Hiemstra’s husband Tak Hiemstra is also a leukaemia survivor; he received his life-saving stem cells in 2013 from an unrelated donor found through the bone marrow registry. Another of the cyclists in the group, Dave Kraitzick, will compete tomor- row with two Sunflower Fund bandannas in his pocket bearing names of humans and pets still fighting cancer, or who have lost their battle.
The tour started at the Grasmere toll plaza, with rest stops in Kroonstad, Bloemfontein, Colesberg, Richmond, Beaufort West, Matjiesfontein and Paarl, before the weary cyclists made their grand entry into the Mother City at the stadium.
“This was not an easy task, but we paid tribute to the incredible struggle and suffering of patients fighting for their lives,” said tour captain Annelies Lievens.
“Spreading light and hope across South Africa” is the slogan on their riding gear, and over the eight days the cyclists stopped at hospitals and visited oncology wards, with the aim of encouraging patients suffering from cancer.
The tour concluded with a fund-raising banquet at Cassis Restaurant on the Nitida Wine Estate last night.
● To make a donation or become a stem cell donor call the fund’s Janine le Roux on 021 701 0661, the toll-free number 0800 12 10 82, or visit www.sunflowerfund.org.za for more information.