Hundreds of cyclists are joining forces with the goal of raising £100,000 by pedalling their way around England’s premier league football grounds.
Tour de Football is the brainchild of passionate supporter Darryl Claypole, whose son Tom is living with a glioblastoma (GBM).
Together with his family, friends and business connections, Darryl has already raised £14,000 for Brain Tumour Research and now he is raising the bar with this ambitious new event which will involve numerous other charities and see teams of cyclists of all ages and abilities cover a total distance of 557 miles.
From Monday 1st May, participants will take on one or more of the event stages which range from 98.7 miles to 10.9 miles, visiting the 20 premier league grounds and other small clubs along the way. The tour finishes at Wembley Stadium on Sunday 14th May as the football season draws to a close.
Darryl, who will be doing three stages, said: “I’m absolutely thrilled Tour de Football will be making its way around the county. It will be a fabulous event that will be fun and challenging, but most importantly will raise money and awareness of this devastating disease. We’ve set a huge target, but why not? By taking part, you will be making a massive difference to people’s lives.”
Tom was diagnosed with a GBM in August 2021 after suffering a seizure at work. A “substantial” part of the tumour was removed by consultant neurosurgeon Dr Stuart Smith (pictured with Darryl and Tom), who will also be getting on his bike.
He said: “The Tour de Football is so important for raising awareness and money. Research for finding better treatments is very expensive, so the work Brain Tumour Research does is critical to advancing that process and hopefully funding the treatments of tomorrow.”
Tom added: “Even at his grand old age of 71, Dad still manages to surprise me by organising this huge event, he’s amazing and I’ve got so much respect for him. It should be great and I would say to anyone to get involved. It’s for such a good cause.”
Choose which stage (or stages) you are interested in pedalling and register for this great new challenge via https://www.braintumourresearch.org/fundraise/tour-de-football
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