Tour De Cure rides into Canberra

A group of 60 dedicated and passionate cyclists will wheel into Canberra this afternoon after a grueling journey up the Clyde Mountain from Batemans Bay. Their visit is part of the 2011 Tour De Cure, an annual cycling event that has successfully risen over $3.8million.

The aim of the Tour is to raise the awareness and inspire action in the fight against cancer. The annual cycling Tour celebrates fundraising efforts and sees a group of ordinary people embark on an extraordinary journey between two Australian cities.

On Tuesday morning a special Ride of Nations event will see both tour and local riders ride a lap around Parliament House waving their national flags. The key message behind this is that cancer does not discriminate no matter what your age or nationality.

Tour de Cure co-founder Gary Bertwistle, who developed the concept for the event in 2007 over coffee with a cycling mate, says that each individual in the Team makes an enormous commitment to be part of the Tour.

“The Tour de Cure is a personal journey for many of our team members, some of whom have lost a family member or friend from the disease, while others have triumphed over cancer themselves,” Gary said.

“Each cyclist must commit to raising $12,000 in donations in order to participate in the Tour, and on top of leaving their families, jobs and businesses to participate they must train aggressively for at least six months leading up to it.”

Look out for the Tour De Cure peleton arriving into the Clifton Suites on Northbourne Avenue this afternoon and tomorrow morning out the front of Parliament House from 7am.

For more information or to arrange pictures or interviews contact Kimberlee King  at Earlybird Marketing and Events Ph: 6126 5900 E: kim@theearlybird.com.au