“Midleton Cycling Club” and “Stephen Roche”, are pleased to present the inaugural Stephen Roche ‘Tour de Cure’ Charity Cycle Sportif on Saturday, 9th May 2009 in Midleton County Cork. Stephen, is delighted to be involved with such an event raising money for important illnesses. It is planned by all that this will be an annual outing and our objective is to help ‘make a difference’.

Proceeds from this great tour will go towards supporting critical ‘Cancer Care and Diabetes Research & Education’ efforts in Ireland. 

The courses on offer have been individually selected and will loop through the beautiful East Cork and Waterford Counties. Participants will have a choice of 3 circuits, the 50km ‘White Novice’ Route, the 100km ‘Purple Leisure Route’ and the more challenging 200km ‘Yellow Active Route’ for riders who want an extra challenge.

The entry fee is 30 euro per rider and this includes a great Event Tee-Shirt, Rider certification, Feed Zone Refueling and Post-Ride Festivities along with other items provided on the day.  We are asking for extra sponsorship if possible on top of the entry fee to raise as much for the 2 charities as they do so much for the people who fall ill, from the these illnesses so we will send out a sponsorship card on receiving the entry form to all particpants. We do know the economic times we are living in at present, so additional sponsorship is not mandatory. We have great sponsors who have donated money to cover all administration costs so all money raised goes directly to the specific programs we will direct the funds raised too.

Cyclists can enter now on the website, http://www.stephenrochetourdecure.com  In addition an auction section on the website will launch in which we hope to raise extra money for the causes with some great items donated, including a ‘Livestrong’ jersey signed by Lance Armstrong recently.

“This year, over 28,000 people will develop cancer and new cancer cases are projected to increase to 42,000 cases by 2020. We would like to encourage as many people as possible to support Stephen Roche and his friends as they undertake this challenging cycling trip and by doing so, will support the Irish Cancer Society in making a real difference to people living with cancer.” John McCormack, CEO, Irish Cancer Society.

<< Download Entry Form Here >>

500 Riders is the target entry on the day.

The Tour de Cure signifies a 'Ride for Hope" supporting the Irish Cancer Society and Diabetes Federation of Ireland. This event has been kindly sponsored by the ‘Johnson & Johnson’ group of companies along with others.

About the Charities:

The Irish Cancer Society’s mission is to play a vital role in achieving world-class cancer services in Ireland, to ensure fewer people get cancer and those that do have better outcomes. This illness will affect every family at some stage in life. Their goals are focused around prevention, survival and quality of life. More information can be found on www.cancer.ie 

The primary goal of the Diabetes Federation of Ireland is to raise funds that can be then used for providing vital services and supporting research into the prevention and eventual cure of diabetes. In Ireland, it is estimated that there are 200,000 people with diabetes with many unaware. More information can be found on www.diabetesireland.ie 

About Stephen Roche: Stephen, born in Dublin Ireland is now a retired Professional Cyclist living in France with his family. In a 13 year professional career, he peaked in 1987 becoming the second cyclist to win the ‘Triple Crown’ of victories in the Giro D’Italia, the Tour De France and the World Cycling Championships in the same year. He had 58 professional career victories including the Tour De Romandie 3 times and the Paris Nice. He was admired worldwide for his pedaling style and personality. Lately Stephen has turned his attention to fund raising for charities running the New York Marathon in ’08 and in addition to the above event he is also riding the ‘London-Paris Cycle Tour’ with the ‘Geoff Thomas Leukaemia Foundation’ in June. More information can be found on www.stephenroche.com 

About Midleton Cycling Club: The club in existence since 1968, throughout the years has been to the fore in promoting many premier races in the South of Ireland most notably, the Elite Senior Men’s, Ladies, and Veteran’s National Championships, along with the first ever Irish ‘Criterium’ National Championship in 2001. Throughout the years it has also being host to stage finishes of the RÁS on numerous occasions and the Tour De France when it visited Irish Shores went through the main street on its way to the stage finish in Cork City.

For More Information: Visit www.stephenrochetourdecure.com or contact event organizers, Derek Whyte [+353 87 1320503] or Aidan Crowley [+353 86 6055523].