Latest news with #CureLeukaemia
Khaleej Times
5 days ago
- Health
- Khaleej Times
UAE: Meet cyclist riding Tour de France Femmes to raise funds for leukaemia cure
What began as a personal journey of strength and survival has transformed into a powerful mission of hope, inclusion, and advocacy — all powered by two wheels. Meet Imke Abma, a 48-year-old Dutch expat who has called Ras Al Khaimah home for the past 18 years. She's the only cyclist representing the UAE in a group of 16 women from around the world — ranging from their mid-20s to early 50s — who are cycling every stage of the Tour de France Femmes, which kicked off on Saturday (July 26) and will run until August 3. But this isn't a race for medals. Imke and her team are not competing in the annual cycling race for women. Instead, they're cycling to raise awareness and funds for Cure Leukaemia, a UK-based charity supporting children battling blood cancer across the globe. Imke, who is currently in France, told Khaleej Times that her passion for the cause was deeply personal — shaped by two life-altering experiences: the loss of her husband's young cousin, Dean Clark, to leukaemia; and her own daughter's life-threatening battle with a congenital heart condition. Her daughter, Mary, now 11, was diagnosed at just seven months old with Atrioventricular Septal Defect (AVSD), a severe congenital heart defect that required urgent surgery. With no viable treatment available in the UAE at the time, the family flew to Singapore on the first flight available on Christmas Eve in 2014 for life-saving surgery. 'Thanks to the support of the most incredible community in the UAE, we found our way to Singapore where Mary underwent open-heart surgery,' Imke told Khaleej Times. 'She turned 11 last May and she's going strong.' From fitness to advocacy Imke's cycling journey began about three years ago as a personal fitness goal. Starting with local triathlons, she eventually qualified for the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships in Scotland through the Spinneys Dubai 92 race. What started as a way to stay active soon grew into something far more meaningful. 'I realised I could do more with the strength I was building. I wanted to focus on inclusion and support — especially encouraging more women, families, and children to get into cycling,' she explained. That desire led her to join Ride For Unity, a global movement using cycling as a tool to bridge divides and foster human connection. Through the initiative, Imke reconnected with Angela Bannon, a fellow cyclist and former Ras Al Khaimah resident, who introduced her to a charity ride for Cure Leukaemia — a mission that immediately resonated. Now, alongside a diverse group of passionate amateur women cyclists from the USA, England, and the UAE, Imke is riding each stage of the Tour de France Femmes ahead of the pros. 'Some are ex-professionals, some high-level amateurs, and others simply passionate cyclists — all united by the same purpose. Many have personal connections to children battling blood cancer.' Conquering peaks for a cause To prepare for the challenge, Imke completed one of the toughest endurance feats in cycling: Everesting Jebel Jais. She cycled up the UAE's tallest mountain seven times in one day, achieving an elevation gain of 8,848 metres — the height of the world's tallest peak, Mount Everest. Her dedication caught the attention of students at the American University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK), who produced a moving video documenting her mission. Imke credits much of her strength to her family, especially her husband, Paul Clark, who works as a general manager in RAK. 'He supports me through all my cycling challenges. We're both active people — his passion is off-roading and desert marshalling — and we support each other in our sportive interests. I'm very grateful for his love and support.' During the Tour de France Femmes, her husband and daughter have been by her side in a camper van, cheering her on every step of the way. 'It's become a family journey," she said. "A way of showing Mary that strength comes in many forms — and that community, love, and determination can change lives,' Imke shared. Imke, who is also the UAE Hub Director of Ride For Unity, will return to Ras Al Khaimah on August 5. For her, cycling is no longer just a sport — it's a form of storytelling, advocacy, and solidarity. 'Research is urgently needed to improve survival rates for children with blood cancer. Cycling has given me a voice to amplify that message — and a sense of purpose I never expected to find on a bicycle," she said.
Irish Times
24-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Stephen Roche on Ben Healy: ‘The sky is the limit, and if I were him, I'd keep dreaming big'
In the 38 years since Stephen Roche first rode his bike up to the ski resort at La Plagne in the 1987 Tour de France nothing about its brutal gradient or length has changed. 'No, it hasn't got any easier, or shorter,' says Roche, who rode up La Plagne again last Friday as part of the Cure Leukaemia charity cycle, which has been covering all of this year's Tour stages a week in advance. 'Still 19km, not much shelter on it either, and a fast road. The Tour stages these days are a bit shorter, it was only 129km, but still a lot of climbing, standing on the pedals.' It was the pivotal summit finish in Roche's outright Tour victory in 1987, the 185km Stage 21 from Le Bourg d'Oisans to La Plagne, remembered in part for Phil Liggett's legendary race commentary on Channel 4: READ MORE 'Again, Pedro Delgado has slipped Stephen Roche on the climb. But remember, at one point he had a minute and a half, and just who is that rider coming up behind ... because that looks like Roche! That looks like Stephen Roche, it's Stephen Roche that has come over the line. He almost caught Pedro Delgado, I don't believe it. Surely ... Stephen Roche is now going to win this Tour de France.' Whether this Friday's Stage 19 to La Plagne, the last big mountain finish, proves equally pivotal remains to be seen, but the 2025 Tour will already be remembered for the exploits of Ben Healy . After winning Stage 6 with a 42km solo breakaway in Vire Normandie, Healy became the first Irish rider since Roche in 1987 to take the leader's yellow jersey after Stage 10, wearing it for two days on Stage 11 and 12. Roche has been watching Healy's career closely over the last number of years, reckoning he might need to rein in his attacking style a little, especially in the Tour. 'I don't know Ben very well, but he's a great guy. I met him last year at the World Championships in Zurich. A few of them were having a few drinks in a bar after the race. I was congratulating him on his season and just chatting like that. I told him maybe refrain a little, rather than attacking 25 times, attack maybe five times. 'He was saying 'that's the way I am, I do things differently', and I just told him your career goes very quickly, you don't want to be known as a very aggressive rider but (who) hasn't got a palmarès (list of wins). It's about winning races, that's what you leave behind. 'I wasn't advising him, we were just shooting the breeze, but then when I saw him winning his first Tour stage, and majestically winning it, it was a brilliant ride. 'Being in the group from a long way out, attacking with 40km to go, you need some balls to do that. Tadej Pogačar can do it, but very few actually do it and maintain it. I was a little worried he might keel over on the final climb, but no, Ben just kept going, putting more time on the two guys behind him.' Ben Healy approaches the line solo to win Stage 6 of the 2025 Tour de France. Photograph: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP via Getty Images After taking over the yellow jersey in Puy de Sancy, Healy became only the fourth Irish rider to wear the famed maillot jaune. Roche wore it for three days in 1987, as did Shay Elliott in 1963, while Seán Kelly wore it for one day in 1983. 'It was the way he managed that stage,' says Roche of Healy's Stage 10 effort. 'He rode so aggressively from the front, knew the yellow jersey was there and he was prepared to dig in and go for it, whatever the result was. Again, very few riders can do that, especially in today's cycling.' Healy lost the yellow jersey on the first big day of climbs in the Hautes-Pyrénées, coming in 13 minutes and 38 seconds behind Pogačar despite the best efforts of his team EF Education-EasyPost. Wearing the yellow jersey for even a single day can take an extra toll on the rider, although Roche doesn't believe that necessarily got to Healy. 'Ben is also a very laid-back guy. I was a bit different, and I think in our day there was a lot more stress after winning a stage, or winning a yellow jersey. 'Riders these days are more micromanaged, they have their own press officer looking after them, so I wouldn't say wearing the yellow jersey took that much out of him. 'But Healy hasn't come out of nowhere, this is the fruit of his hard work and dedication. He must also believe in himself now, after the performances he's put in the last few years, in the Tour and the Classics.' Ben Healy (right) is beaten to the line by Soudal Quick-Step's Valentin Paret-Peintre on Stage 16. Photograph: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP via Getty Images Healy displayed all his belief again in Tuesday's stage to Mont Ventoux, falling just a bike-length short of another place in Tour history, crossing the line second behind Frenchman Valentin Paret-Peintre. 'I thought he was unlucky,' says Roche. 'Tactically, maybe he didn't play it right. It's easy to say that in hindsight, but if I was Ben, after winning a stage and wearing the yellow jersey, I wouldn't have been so aggressive. I'd have sat back and told the others 'if you want to win this stage, you ride for it'. I'd have a bluffed a little bit too,' says Roche. 'He definitely deserved to win, and until the last 50m he had won it. But you could see Paret-Peintre had some extra motivation, to be the first French stage winner on this Tour.' For Roche, there's no doubt the 24-year-old Healy is still approaching his prime. Roche rode the Tour 10 times, finishing third in 1985 (aged 25), winning in 1987 aged 27, then winning another stage in 1992 (aged 32). 🚴♂️ Cycling legend Stephen Roche has just added his signature to this jersey YOU could WIN! This unique jersey will be signed by four Tour de France winners. For every £20 donation to — The Tour 21 (@TheTour21) 'He can definitely get better in time trialling with a bit more coaching. Climbing, we've seen he's not far off the mark. Generally, there's still a bit of progression to be made. So the sky is the limit, and if I were him, I'd keep dreaming big. 'I think he definitely has what it takes to target the podium anyway. You've got to target the yellow jersey, of course, but he can definitely target the podium. 'Until now, some people were saying 'Ben who? Oh the Irish guy?' But after this Tour, Ben Healy is a household name in cycling, all the peloton know what Ben is capable of, so you won't get as much rope as you got before. Once you start knocking on the door, doing these kind of performances, you become a marked man. 'But I don't think that will bother Ben. He shoots from the hip, really. Sometimes that comes with a cost as well, but the Tour is a special case, it's a different monster. You really do need to have special qualities to get up there like Healy has.'
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ex-footballer finishes Tour De France challenge
Former Wolves and England footballer Geoff Thomas has completed his seventh Tour De France challenge with the hope of raising £1m for research into leukaemia. Thomas, who lives in Worcestershire, has been part of Tour 21 team which has been following the exact same route as the Tour De France, a week ahead of the professionals racing. He was given just three months to live in 2003 after being diagnosed with leukaemia, but overcame the illness two years later after treatment and a stem cell transplant. He first took part in the challenge for Cure Leukaemia in 2005, when he was six months in remission, and the 2025 race he completed on Sunday is his last, he said. Speaking to BBC Hereford and Worcester after crossing the finish line in Paris, he said the experience had been "magical". "Everyone's been so good on this event. We've bonded as a team," he said. "I think you become like a family and after a few weeks together doing a ridiculously hard challenges every day is a bond that's built for life." "I started this 20 years ago. It was all purely to raise money for Cure Leukaemia and get [professor] Charlie Craddock the funding he needed to fulfil his dream of building a clinical research centre that would fast-track all the wealth of knowledge that's in the science labs to benefit patients. "Over the last 15 years I can say for sure with the infrastructure we've set up, it's working and people are largely being saved on the back of these fantastic guys raising money for a great cause." He said he was not normally an emotional man but seeing his family at the end of the race was tough. "I knew everybody would be here [at the finishing line] and I had a little moment to myself and then when I came here I just wanted to enjoy everyone's enjoyment and see it in their eyes," he added. "I've done it numerous times... but taking on a challenge like that and meeting in Paris is magical." His wife Julie said she was "so proud". "It's just fantastic. It's a huge challenge and I think 90% is your mental state," she said. "I think Geoff being a professional sportsman, I think he just has that drive in him, no matter what's happening to your body, you just get on with it. "I think he doesn't really think about what's going on at the time, he just pushes on for the charity really, for the cause." Thomas, who was appointed an MBE in 2021 for his work raising money for cancer charities, said everyone that took part should be proud of themselves and what they had achieved. "I am proud of them and I'm proud of the charity and that's why I carry on doing this and oddly, even though I was the most unfit I've been taking on this challenge, it's inspired me even more than any other." Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. More on this story Thomas prepares for seventh charity Tour De France Ex-footballer in fundraising vow after Tour exit Ex-Wolves star finishes Tour de France for charity Geoff Thomas receives MBE for cancer charity work Related internet links The Tour 21
BBC News
21-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Ex-Wolves player Geoff Thomas completes Tour De France challenge
Former Wolves and England footballer Geoff Thomas has completed his seventh Tour De France challenge with the hope of raising £1m for research into who lives in Worcestershire, has been part of Tour 21 team which has been following the exact same route as the Tour De France, a week ahead of the professionals was given just three months to live in 2003 after being diagnosed with leukaemia, but overcame the illness two years later after treatment and a stem cell first took part in the challenge for Cure Leukaemia in 2005, when he was six months in remission, and the 2025 race he completed on Sunday is his last, he said. Speaking to BBC Hereford and Worcester after crossing the finish line in Paris, he said the experience had been "magical"."Everyone's been so good on this event. We've bonded as a team," he said."I think you become like a family and after a few weeks together doing a ridiculously hard challenges every day is a bond that's built for life." "I started this 20 years ago. It was all purely to raise money for Cure Leukaemia and get [professor] Charlie Craddock the funding he needed to fulfil his dream of building a clinical research centre that would fast-track all the wealth of knowledge that's in the science labs to benefit patients."Over the last 15 years I can say for sure with the infrastructure we've set up, it's working and people are largely being saved on the back of these fantastic guys raising money for a great cause."He said he was not normally an emotional man but seeing his family at the end of the race was tough."I knew everybody would be here [at the finishing line] and I had a little moment to myself and then when I came here I just wanted to enjoy everyone's enjoyment and see it in their eyes," he added. "I've done it numerous times... but taking on a challenge like that and meeting in Paris is magical."His wife Julie said she was "so proud"."It's just fantastic. It's a huge challenge and I think 90% is your mental state," she said."I think Geoff being a professional sportsman, I think he just has that drive in him, no matter what's happening to your body, you just get on with it."I think he doesn't really think about what's going on at the time, he just pushes on for the charity really, for the cause."Thomas, who was appointed an MBE in 2021 for his work raising money for cancer charities, said everyone that took part should be proud of themselves and what they had achieved."I am proud of them and I'm proud of the charity and that's why I carry on doing this and oddly, even though I was the most unfit I've been taking on this challenge, it's inspired me even more than any other." Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
RTÉ News
17-07-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
How does cycling 3,483km in 21 days affect your body?
Analysis: Completing the Tour de France route is a monumental achievement for any cyclist as it takes a serious toll on the human body By Steve Faulkner, Nottingham Trent University The Tour de France is often called the world's biggest annual sporting event. Each July, up to 12 million people line the roadside, while the cumulative TV audience tops 3 billion viewers across 190 countries. In 2025, 184 riders will compete in teams of eight, racing a punishing 3,483 km route with nearly 50,000 metres of climbing, roughly the height of Mount Everest six times over. Over 21 stages, riders tackle time trials, flat sprints and brutal mountain passes through the Alps, Pyrenees and Massif Central. Irish cyclist Ben Healy is the current race leader and yellow jersey holder after 11 stages of the 112th edition. Professional cyclists possess extraordinary endurance and are capable of generating high power outputs day after day. Yet, despite having far less training and support, a number of amateur cyclists have begun riding the Tour route in recent years just days before the pros. The Tour 21 is one such effort and offers cyclists a chance to follow in the tyre tracks of the elite while raising money for a good cause. In 2021 I joined 19 others to ride the full route in support of Cure Leukaemia, with a shared goal of raising £1 million for blood cancer research. As a blood cancer survivor diagnosed at 16, this challenge combined my love of cycling, my background in science and my deep desire to give back to the community that helped save my life. It was also a unique opportunity to study how amateur cyclists cope with one of the most demanding endurance events in the world. The research findings were published in the Journal of Science and Cycling, to coincide with 2025's Grand Départ (the official start of the race) in Lille. Training for the impossible Originally, the study planned to include lab-based physiological assessments of the amateur cyclists undertaking the Tour de France route, but the pandemic forced us to adapt and rely instead on data from training diaries. These gave us insight into how much (or little) training had been done leading up to the ride, and how riders managed the physical and mental strain during the event itself. From RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland, Ben Healy takes the yellow jersey at the Tour de France, the first Irishman to do so since Stephen Roche in 1987 While professional cyclists typically train 20–25 hours a week – often at altitude, with tailored coaching and racing schedules – our group of amateurs had full-time jobs, were typically 15–20 years older than the pros and trained around seven to ten hours a week. Our preparation was far from ideal, averaging just 47km per ride and 350 metres of climbing; a fraction of what the Tour demands. In fact, this amounted to less than 10% of the required climbing during the mountain stages. Once the ride began, the contrast between training and reality was stark. The group averaged nearly seven hours of riding a day, a 300% increase from their usual routine. Within four days signs of overtraining began to emerge: riders were no longer able to elevate their heart rates, a classic marker of central nervous system fatigue and excessive physical stress. From Global Cycling Network, how does the Tour de France impact rider health and fitness? As the days progressed, performance metrics continued to decline: heart rates dropped, power outputs fell and mood scores deteriorated. The cumulative fatigue was undeniable. Surprisingly, when we compared our amateur data to metrics from professional riders, we found that although pros ride at much higher power outputs, amateurs were subject to greater relative stress. On some days they spent almost double the time in the saddle, which meant they operated closer to their physical limits, with far less time for recovery – and often suboptimal sleep and nutrition. By the final week many of the riders could no longer produce the same power they had in the first few days. In some cases, heart rates wouldn't rise above 100 beats per minute – a clear sign of accumulated fatigue and physiological overload. How to prepare for an ultra-endurance challenge If you're planning to take on a major endurance event – whether it's cycling, running, or hiking – here are some lessons from the road: Train specifically for the event Your training should mirror the challenge ahead. For the Tour, this meant preparing for long, back-to-back days with significant climbing. Mimic the intensity, volume and terrain as closely as possible. Understand how quickly fatigue builds Over multiple days, fatigue doesn't just accumulate – it compounds. Listen to your body, adapt your plan and include plenty of recovery time. Prioritise nutrition and recovery These two factors can make or break your performance. You'll need to consume enough energy to fuel the effort, but avoid excessive intake that leads to unnecessary weight gain. Recovery – through sleep, rest and refuelling – is equally vital. Work with an experienced coach More than fancy bikes or high-tech gear, a good coach is your best investment. They can help tailor your training plan, track your progress and adapt strategies as needed. Don't underestimate this support. From Cheddar Explains, what the Tour De France does to a rider's body Completing the Tour de France route is a monumental achievement for any cyclist — amateur or pro. In 2021, our team not only rode the full route, but also raised over £1 million for Cure Leukaemia. For me, it marked a deeply personal milestone in my cancer journey. Throughout those 21 days, I thought often of the physical and emotional battles I faced during treatment; moments when I didn't know if I'd survive, let alone ride across France. That experience gave me the resilience to keep going, even when my body was screaming to stop. Riding the Tour taught me that we're capable of far more than we realise, especially when we ride with purpose.
