VICTORIA -- While the annual Tour de Rock fundraising ride may have looked different this year, hundreds of thousands of dollars were still raised by islanders for cancer research amid the pandemic.

The 2020 Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock ride began in Port Alice on Sept. 21. Since then, small teams of alumni riders have been tackling different legs of the tour while stopping in communities for small rallies and events.

One of the stops included a special visit to a child cancer survivor, Lily Lechinana, in Sooke. Lily was a junior rider with the tour last year, as she battled cancer. This year, she and her family helped organize a bottle drive that raised more than $18,000 for Tour de Rock.

At the midpoint of the tour, the fundraising event had raised nearly $255,000 for pediatric cancer research.

The overall goal for this year’s Tour de Rock is to raise $600,000. Donations can still be made online here.

The tour’s fundraising total will be announced in Victoria Friday, Oct. 2, during the 6 p.m. CTV News Vancouver Island newscast.