Riders raise £30k for drinks charity

A group of 14 cyclists from the UK wine trade has raised over £30,000 for The Benevolent, The Drinks Industry Charity.

Left to right: Andrew Hawes, David Cox & Chris Porter

Dubbed the Tour of the Douro, the riders covered over 600km along the river Douro in Spain & Portugal from 10-14 June.

The challenge was orchestrated by Andrew Hawes, managing director of Mentzendorff and began at Bodegas Roda in Rioja, the UK importer’s Spanish agency.

The riders then went via Taylor’s Quinta de Vargellas before finishing at Régua in the Upper Douro Valley near Oporto.

This was the eighth charity ride for The Benevolent organised by Hawes and brought together veterans from previous rides: Philip Amps, Chris Matthews, Chris Connolly, Alan Montague-Dennis, Hannah Schulz, Ian Harris and Andrew Reed.

Initially aiming to raise £25000, the cheque presentation of £30,000 to The Benevolent took place on 31 July at Mentzendorff’s head office.

The Benevolent’s chief executive David Cox and chairman Chris Porter accepted the cheque on behalf of the charity where the funds will be used to help existing and ex-members of the drinks industry who are suffering serious illness, disability or financial hardship.

The peloton approach the end of the 600km Tour of the Douro

David Cox commented: “The riders’ perseverance over such a distance not only provides the charity with much needed funds but also exemplifies the spirit of The Benevolent and is a powerful demonstration of how the drinks industry supports its own community. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to all the riders and to their sponsors and to those that donated so generously.”

Two years ago, in 2011, db took part in Benevolent ride of a similar distance from Champagne to Chapoutier in Tain l’Hermitage. You can read the report on that challenge here.