Music, alumni and residents greeted the annual Tour de Rock as a team rolled into Sidney for its finale last October. (Christine van Reeuwyk/News Staff)

Tour de Rock riders Cydney MacNeill, left, Mike Sherman, Steve Smith, Ashley Cockle, Dave Giles and their teammates set out along Selby Street in Nanaimo on Sept. 26, 2021. (Greg Sakaki/Black Press Media)

Parksville resident Bradd Tuck smiles as he gets his head shaved by Anissa Derek of Full-Throttle Hair Garage to raise funds for the Cops for Cancer Tour De Rock 2021. The tour stopped by at the Parksville & District Chamber of Commerce Visitor Centre on Sept. 24. The riders watching the hair-shaving event are Simon Douthwaite, Kim Laidman and Cassie Loveless. (Photo by Michael Briones)

Members of the 2021 Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock ride through Ladysmith on a practice ride. (Photo by Duck Paterson)

After a couple of challenging years that saw the Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock take on a slightly different format, the 25th anniversary team is due to be announced this week.

The Canadian Cancer Society’s Tour de Rock Committee is hosting the unveiling ceremony for the team of riders for 2022, this Friday (May 6) morning at Tillicum Elementary School in Saanich.

The naming of the riders, mostly from law enforcement and other emergency services agencies across Vancouver Island, marks the first stage in a memorable return to riding the Island for the tour. The last full ride from Port Alice to Victoria, raising funds for childhood cancer research and supports, happened in 2019.

Last year’s hybrid model, with riders traversing their own communities and pooling their efforts, saw more than $500,000 raised for the cause.

Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock raised $505,000 #forthekids

Thank you Vancouver Island! ❤ pic.twitter.com/Hk9LEDIwd2

— Tour de Rock (@TourdeRock) October 2, 2021

RELATED STORY: More than $500,000 raised for kids with cancer in 2021 Tour de Rock

As a national fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society, Cops for Cancer has raised nearly $50 million to increase survival rates and support children living with cancer and their families. The Tour de Rock has brought in more than half of that amount at more than $26 million, providing research funding and helping support endeavours such as Camp Goodtimes which offers respite and some fun for cancer patients, survivors and family members.

This year’s tour hits the road Saturday, Sept. 24 in Port Alice and winds its way south, stopping in more than two dozen communities before rolling into the grand finale Oct. 7 in Victoria. Community and school fundraisers along the way, the proceeds of which are announced during the riders’ visits, add to the amount pledged to individual riders and the team itself.

For more information, visit tourderock.ca.

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