Sir Chris Hoy is urging thousands of virtual cyclists to get on their bikes at home to beat cancer.
The inspirational Olympian is raising millions of pounds by organising his Tour de 4 charity ride in September. That event will be preceded by a series of events on global virtual platform Zwift.
The selfless star will start at the front of the pack as 5,000 riders pedal from the velodrome named after him in Glasgow to Edinburgh.
Among the big names signed up to either do the intercity run or do an indoor “virtual” event on Saturday alongside Chris are fellow Scottish Olympic gold medallists Sir Andy Murray and Duncan Scott, as well as road cyclist Sir Mark Cavendish.
The big ride on September 7 will mean huge publicity to drive forward developments in treatments for prostate cancer.
Chris is already believed to have save many lives after urging men to get tested for the killer illness.
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Chris said: “My purpose now is to get the message spread as wide and as far as possible. The Tour de Four will hopefully change perceptions of what a stage four cancer diagnosis can look like.
“So it’s for everybody. It’s a very inclusive event, but really, we’re looking for as many people who have been affected by cancer, indirectly or directly, to take part. And it’s a bike ride starting and finishing in Glasgow at the Velodrome. And we hope to raise a lot of money for cancer charities and also change perceptions.”
Sir Chris also urged people in their homes who can access Zwift to jump on their bikes on Saturday.
He said: “We’re actually doing a ride tomorrow morning on in the virtual world, on Zwift, which is a virtual cycling platform. Andy Murray is joining us, Mark Cavendish, Duncan Scott and we’ve got all kinds of well known celebrities and cyclists that are joining.
“It’s a start of a number of rides we’re going to be doing between now and the Tour de Four itself, to get that community together to raise some funds.
“Zwift are actually going to match pound for pound any donations we make during these rides.
“So we’re getting the ball rolling straight away. And you and it’s having an impact.”
https://zwiftinsider.com/tour-de-4-ride-series-with-sir-chris-hoy-announced/
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