Dream to Cure ride brings Tour de France champ Chris Froome to Canada

On September 23 you can ride with one of the greatest riders in recent cycling history: four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome. The Dream to Cure Ride is a special event on the roads of Port Moody, BC that will definitely be a memorable day on the bike. There’s only 100 spaces available, so you’ll be up close and personal with the man who has won all three Grand Tours.

Two routes available

You will start and finish at Rocky Point Park in Port Moody, with the option of either a 30km or 80km road cycling route, with both routes benefiting from comprehensive support.

The aim of the Dream to Cure ride is to generate funds for a highly specific endeavour within the realm of cancer research: the extremely early detection of cancer, even at the inception of the initial cell. Dr. Azra Raza, a prominent oncologist known for her expertise in pre-leukemia and acute leukemia, and also serving as the director of the MDS Center at Columbia University, is dedicated to this particular field. She has successfully raised over $14.5 million to develop an antibody capable of identifying cancer from its very first malignant cell. Contributions gathered through the Dream to Cure initiative will be directly channeled into advancing her efforts to pinpoint and eliminate cancer in this primary cell stage, before it can propagate further.

Riding with Chris Froome

“After hearing about the vision behind Dream to Cure, I knew I wanted to get involved,” Chris Froome said. “It’s exciting to be able to spread awareness about the work around early detection of cancer being done by Dr. Raza while also getting to ride some of the best roads in North America at the Dream to Cure event. I’m looking forward to experiencing the riding that Vancouver and Port Moody have to offer.”

Kevin Ham, a Canadian entrepreneur, medical doctor, and philanthropist, brought the ride together. His e-commerce shipping company, Chit Chats, is a sponsor of Froome’s team, Israel-Premier Tech. Ham has a personal connection to the disease–when he was younger, both his mother and a close friend died as a result of it.

“I did my first charity cycling event as a non-cyclist back in 2008,” he said. “In just three weeks, I had raised nearly $20,000 for a friend who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. It felt like a positive step that I could take, and it made me see the importance of peer to peer fundraising for cancer research. Since then, I along with my co-workers have ridden across Canada in various cycling fundraiser events and have raised around $100,000 for cancer care and research. Now we want to have a hand at helping to shine a light on and funding what we believe is ground-breaking work in the eradication of cancer.”

Small group for better connections

Dr. Ham wanted the first edition of the ride to be small, hence the cap of 100 riders.

“We chose to keep this first event with only 100 riders, in order to ensure that all participants are able to connect with both Chris Froome and Dr. Raza, to be inspired by their stories and hear them speak about what their journeys have been like as they’ve both committed themselves fully to their dreams,” Dr. Ham added.

The early bird registration fee of $250 ends on August 15. After that, the fee is $300 until August 31 and $350 until September 22. In addition to the fee, all participants must raise $1,000 CAD.

Factor has provided prizes for all participants, and the top fundraisers will have the opportunity to join Chris Froome, Dr. Raza, and Dr. Ham for a semi-private meal.

To learn more about the event, visit DreamToCure.com