Cycling: Lance Armstrong cancer ride planned for June

Friday, May 02, 2008 - 02:33 PM

For just $25,000....

KITCHENER——RIM billionaire Jim Balsillie and cycling star Lance Armstrong will team up for a local bicycle tour to raise money for cancer treatment. A select few will take to the backroads of Waterloo Region with Armstrong in the Ride with Lance fundraiser June 14.

Money raised will go to the Grand River Regional Cancer Centre and the Odette Cancer Centre at Sunnybrook hospital in Toronto.

Balsillie, co-chief executive officer of Research in Motion, is a driving force behind the event. Armstrong is a seven-time Tour de France winner and a cancer survivor. Riders who want to join the pack will have to raise at least $25,000, including a $1,500 registration fee. Only 50 people can join.

The route is being designed by Canadian cycling legend Steve Bauer. The Olympic silver medallist and Tour de France competitor cycled with Balsillie and Armstrong at a Lake Louise cancer fundraiser. The Waterloo region route will cover about 100 kilometres over country roads and take between three and four hours to complete.

"It will be rural, rolling terrain," said Bauer, who owns a St. Catharines company that organizes bike tours around the world. The route will begin and end in the Kitchener area but is not yet finalized. "I'm sure we'll get a great route together," Bauer said. "There's so many great roads around there."

The hefty fundraising requirements come with some perks. Riders will enjoy a reception with Armstrong the night before the ride and brunch before they head out Saturday morning. Every rider, decked out in a team jersey and shorts, will get a chance to pedal at the front of the pack next to Armstrong.

At a post-ride dinner, the top five fundraisers will dine at Armstrong's table.