Laureus Academy Members join 30,000 cyclists in race around the Cape

Side-by-side with over 30,000 enthusiastic cyclists, a group of Laureus Academy Members, including a five-time Tour de France winner, have completed the famous South African Cape Argus Bike ride.

Academy Members Hugo Porta, Daley Thompson, Miguel Indurain and Morné du Plessis, Chairman of the Laureus Foundation in South Africa, were riding in the Vodafone pelaton at the Cape Town-based race which is the largest of its kind in the world.

The ride followed the Academy Members’ visit the previous Friday to one of the latest Laureus-supported programmes in South Africa: the Great Commission United project in the informal Cape Flats settlement.

The football-based project, founded by former gang member Mario van Niekerk, works to keep young people away from gangs and crime

Youngsters from the project enjoyed the thrill of a lifetime as they took part in an exhibition show-casing what they do at the projects and demonstrating their skills to some of the greatest names in sport.

In his exclusive blog on Laureus.com about his experiences of the visit, Argentinean rugby legend Porta wrote: “These kids and the people working here at projects like GCU really are the heart and soul of the Foundation. We are all taking part in the same important work, but being able to visit them and see what they are achieving in action means the world.”