A team of 15 UAE-based cyclists raised 2.4 million dirhams for cancer care, organizers said this week. They rode 3,333 kilometres from Barcelona to Paris. The total beat their original goal of Dh1.8 million.

The team rode under the banner Cycle Against Cancer. They finished the 25-day route on 25 July, climbing more than 54,000 metres through Spain and France along the way. All proceeds go to the Al Jalila Foundation. It is Dubai Health's philanthropic arm, and it funds cancer research, treatment access and patient support across the UAE.

Guido De Wilde, the ride's 68-year-old founder, led the group. He is a stage 4 colon cancer survivor who had surgery and chemotherapy during the Covid-19 pandemic. He said the support behind the ride showed that people facing cancer do not have to face it alone.

The roster included Andrew Hallam, a personal finance author who survived bone cancer after surgery in 2009. Thirteen of the 15 riders live in the UAE; the other two joined from abroad. Dr Amer Al Zarooni, chief executive of the Al Jalila Foundation, backed the campaign throughout. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum met the group in Dubai before they left for the Barcelona start on 1 July.

Several riders dedicated the trip to someone they had lost to cancer, or to someone still being treated for it, the organizers said. De Wilde said the ride was about visibility as well as money.

The route was not easy. Cold and chest infections spread through the group in the first week. Riders also had to reroute around wildfires in Spain and France before the flames reached their path. Most days meant seven to ten hours in the saddle through summer heat.

A second milestone for De Wilde

This is De Wilde's second organized fundraiser for the foundation. In 2022 he rode solo from Brussels to Bergamo in Italy, covering 1,200 kilometres over seven days. That ride raised Dh367,250, or about 100,000 US dollars, and led him to found Cycle Against Cancer the following year. This year's team ride raised more than six times that amount.

The money raised goes toward the foundation's research, treatment-access and patient-support programs. Organizers plan a celebration gala in September to thank the riders, partners and donors who backed this year's ride.

Join the discussion

💬 Would you take on a challenge like this for a cause you care about?

Back to Community