Fifty-five professional cyclists set out from the Four Seasons Hotel Miami on Brickell Avenue Saturday morning, pedaling through South Florida on routes stretching 75 to 100 miles for the Best Buddies Challenge. The lineup included Tour de France champion Chris Froome and Australian triathlete Cameron Wurf, a pairing that turned a charity ride into something of a hometown spectacle for anyone catching the peloton roll through Miami, South Beach and Key Biscayne.
The event, detailed by WSVN, is one of several major fundraising rides Best Buddies holds each year to support its mission. According to the ride's event website, riders could choose between a 100-mile or 75-mile police-escorted course, a format organizers have likened to a Tour de France-style peloton moving through city streets with law enforcement clearing the way.
Best Buddies describes itself as a nonprofit dedicated to creating global inclusion for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, and the station's report notes the organization runs several major fundraising events throughout the year. CEO Anthony Shriver, speaking about the broader mission behind rides like Saturday's, put it simply: “We raise millions and millions of dollars, but the most important thing in the programs we do and work with to serve people with intellectual, developmental disabilities.”
From the Road to the Lunch Table
Once the cyclists completed their routes, the ride wrapped up with a lunch back at the hotel, celebrating participants' fundraising and athletic achievements, per the same account. It's a familiar finish for Best Buddies events, which typically pair the physical challenge of a long-distance ride with a social gathering meant to recognize both the money raised and the miles logged.
The Ansin Foundation is listed as a sponsor of Best Buddies, lending its name to an event that has become something of a fixture on Miami's philanthropic calendar. The event website also states that all funds raised benefit Best Buddies International, which the organization says supports programs built around friendship, employment, communication and advocacy skills, and independent living for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Part of a Bigger Fundraising Circuit
Miami's ride follows a similar event held weeks earlier in New York, where Froome was joined by cyclist Alberto Contador for a 100-mile ride through Central Park. That October 3 event drew 700 guests and raised $4 million for Best Buddies programs, according to Best Buddies International.
Miami's challenge has its own track record of growth. Two years earlier, the Miami ride was capped at 50 participants, with riders given the same 75- or 100-mile route options and the same Tour de France-style, police-escorted setup, as SOMI Magazine reported at the time. That same year, the broader Best Buddies Miami Gala raised a record $7.2 million for the organization's programs, according to SOMI Magazine's coverage.
Best Buddies' own FAQ for the Miami Challenge identifies the organization as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a federal tax ID number, and states that donations made to the event are tax deductible. That designation underscores how the Miami ride fits into a national fundraising network that stretches from Brickell Avenue to Central Park, with professional athletes like Froome and Wurf serving as the draw that gets everyday riders to sign up for a cause built around inclusion.
