On Saturday, November 16, 2024, the Best Buddies Challenge: Miami, a world-class cycling event featured a ride through some of Miami’s most historic and scenic locations, including South Beach and Key Biscayne. Limited to just 50 participants, riders experienced a Tour de France-style police-escorted peloton with route options of 100 or 75 miles. Leading the ride were four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome and professional cyclists Mark Cavendish, Alberto Contador, Geraint Thomas, and Cam Wurf.
Best Buddies International, a nonprofit dedicated to creating opportunities for friendship, employment, leadership development, inclusive living, and family support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), hosted its Best Buddies Challenge: Miami chaired by Kenneth C. Griffin Charitable Fund and presented by the Andrew P. Barowsky Foundation, Mack Cycle & Fitness and the Jersey Mike’s Subs. After the 100-mile ride, the Best Buddies Miami Gala was held at the Four Seasons Hotel Miami, featuring star-studded entertainment. This year’s Gala raised a record-breaking $7.2 million for Best Buddies programs.
Best Buddies Miami Challenge 2024 Team Photo(Photo: SOMI Magazine)
A standout moment of the record-breaking night was when Jersey Mike’s Subs Founder Peter Cancro presented Best Buddies with a check for $5.3 million—the total funds raised from the company’s recent in-store fundraiser benefiting the organization.
