A team of 18 amateur cyclists have raised more than £1million for Cure Leukaemia thanks to a gruelling Tour de France course challenge.
They pedalled into Paris, the 21st and final stage of The Tour 21 event, as heroes on Sunday following the announcement that they had hit their fundraising milestone.
The team have spent the past three weeks cycling across Spain and France as part of The Tour 21, in partnership with Flutter, on behalf of the blood cancer charity. It was a feat which saw them complete all stages of the Tour de France – one week ahead of the professionals.
Made up of cyclists from across the world, the team completed all 3,400km of the world’s most famous and prestigious professional cycling event. The team rolled out of Bilbao on Saturday 24th June, soaking up the atmosphere of the soon-to arrive Tour de France event. Three tough stages across Spain provided a stern introduction to Tour life before many French mountains awaited them.
The 16 men and two women making up The Tour 21 team this year have been pushed to their physical limits in what has been the most mountainous Tour of recent years. Five mountain ranges were tackled in total. The Pyrenees, Massif Central, Jura, Alps and Vosge - including the dreaded Col de Joux Plane - and the mighty Col de la Loze, and the Puy de Dôme.
Over the course of the 21 stages, the team, representing four different countries from across the globe, cycled over 55,000m of elevation – the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest over six times – or 183 Eiffel Towers. All funds raised by The Tour 21 team will be invested in the national Trials Acceleration Programme (TAP) which has been solely funded by Cure Leukaemia since January 2020.
The TAP Network is a network of specialist Research Nurses at 15 blood cancer centres located in the UK’s biggest cities. This network enables accelerated setup and delivery of potentially life-saving blood cancer clinical trials to run giving patients from a UK catchment area of over 20 million people access to treatments not currently available through standard care.
One of this year’s riders Professor Rob Wynn said: “Twenty-one stages of the Tour de France done. I just want to say thank you to everyone who supported the team throughout the past three weeks. Personally, I had to find mental and physical resistance that I honestly didn’t know I had. I have to live the Tour, and I mean really live it in a constant eat, sleep, ride, rest cycle.
“Most importantly and rather incredibly, the team raised over £1million. This is a super special feeling and I promise it will make a difference and we will help save lives that would otherwise be lost to this disease.”
Cure Leukaemia Chief Executive James McLaughlin, who was in Paris to greet the team past the finish line expressed his admiration for all 18 cyclists and support crew for completing The Tour on behalf of the charity and helping to save lives.
“It is simply staggering what the team have tackled over the past 21 days to not only raise funds for Cure Leukaemia but also raise awareness of blood cancer across the world,” he said. “I think what the last three weeks has been a unique sense of team spirit, camaraderie and dedication. Taking on all 21 stages of the Tour de France is unique and to pass the £1million mark on their arrival into Paris is something that they should be immensely proud of.
"This is, without a doubt, one of the most gruelling sporting challenges in the world and behalf of Cure Leukaemia, I am just immensely proud of every single one of them. What they have done is put their bodies on the line to raise funds for Cure Leukaemia, and for that, we will be forever grateful.”
Cure Leukaemia Co-Founder Professor Charlie Craddock CBE said: “The team may not be aware, but their bravery, their commitment to people who urgently need our help for new treatments and their vision that we can make the future better has galvanised the UK blood cancer community. The team have inspired blood cancer patients across the UK who are profoundly moved by the bravery that they have shown. And also, of course, critically, they have raised vital money to support Cure Leukaemia.
“The work that Professor Rob Wynn and his colleagues do in the UK is something that we should all be incredibly proud of with its globally significant results. I continue this from the bottom of my heart - without your work, your commitment and your ability to dig so deep on so many days, on so many occasions is so inspiring. So we should celebrate not only their amazing personal achievements, not only this model where people through altruism, through generosity, through compassion give of themselves to change other peoples lives.”
Flutter's Group Head of Communities, Kerry McNally said, "We are thrilled to have reached the £1 million donation mark in support of The Tour 21 Riders as the challenge comes to a close. Through Cure Leukaemia’s Trials Acceleration Programme (TAP), the money raised by the Tour 21 will support a new clinical trial for patients living with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL). As headline sponsors, we are immensely proud to be a part of the effort to eradicate this disease.
“This partnership brings together our passion for sport with our commitment to Do More, helping support the communities in which we operate, and with the aim of helping 10 million people by the end of 2030. The money raised across the event will help us to achieve this goal and we're excited to continue working with the Cure Leukaemia team.”
To support The Tour 21’s fundraising campaign, click here.
If you’ve been inspired by The Tour 21 and would like to enquire about riding the 2024 event, click here.
