A father and daughter duo raised funds for an animal shelter when they tackled this year's Cape Town Cycle Tour on Sunday.

Last year, Sentinel reported on another group of cyclists who raised funds for a Hout Bay NGO’s youth sports programme when they were competing at the Cape Town Cycle Tour ('Cyclists raising funds for ikhaya le Themba').

Olivia Farinha is a Grade 7 pupil at Llandudno Primary School.

She and her father, Juan-Paul, took on the 109km route on a tandem bike.

The pair decided that their race would help raise funds to sponsor more pet food for the dogs at the Domestic Animal Rescue Group (DARG), according to school spokesperson, Marzaane Scheepers.

"People could support them by donating dog food, sponsoring a few rands per kilometre, or donating money into the BackaBuddy or SnapScan link.At the drop-off points people could sponsor dog food, dog blankets, dog jerseys or dog beds," Ms Scheepers said.

Besides cycling, Olivia says her hobbies include taking part in netball, waterpolo, cross-country and swimming.

"My dad and I have been discussing competing at this year's cycle tour for a long time and I've always wanted to take part. I really love dogs and animals. Our family pets are all rescues!

"DARG is one of the charities we as a family have been supporting since moving to Hout Bay. We do collections and donations for them. I have also done raffles at markets and sold some stuff to earn money so we can donate to DARG," she said.

Her father is an avid cyclist and also competed in the Cape Epic.

To prepare for the tour, Olivia and her father practiced every weekend from the beginning of this year, which included 6km rides every day.

When asked which routes Olivia found challenging at the Cycle Tour, she said: "I got very tired at the end! At some point, I thought it was the end of the race, and I was relieved, but then I realised it wasn't the end! It was very exiciting to ride around Cape Town. I loved having a support crew (family and friends) at every leg of the race."

Olivia's fundraising goal is to donate 109 bags of dog food.

"Both her dad and her mom (Zara-Leigh Farinha) are extremely proud of her," said Ms Scheepers.

Olivia plans to compete in next year's Cycle Tour.

For more information or to make a contribution, visit their Backabuddy link.

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