Marie-Hélène Laramée from the Jewish General Hospital and Canadian Olympian and World Cup track cycling medalist Hugo Barrette will be joining over 1,000 cyclists — many of whom are cancer survivors — on a two-day journey from Montreal to Quebec City.
The Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer is the largest cycling fundraiser in Canada.
In Quebec alone, the ride has raised $47 million in the past eight years.
For Laramée, the event is about making Quebec a leader in cancer research which ultimately benefits patients.
“Funds are going to the Segal Cancer Centre of the Jewish General Hospital,” she said. “We really want the Montrealers and the Quebecers to have what is the best treatment possible in all the world.”
WATCH BELOW: Personalized cancer treatments
For Barrette, taking part in the ride just made sense.
“I wanted to help,” he said. “Whatever I can give — this is a cycling ride, I am a cyclist.”
His decision to help out was also personal.
“To me, it’s an extremely important cause because it touched my family,” Barrette said. “My aunt has cancer as we speak… Pretty much everyone is touched at some point by cancer.”
But above being a bike ride and a fundraiser, for many it can be an emotional journey.
“They have real stories. Hard stories,” Barrette said of fellow participants in this weekend’s ride.
“I had my series of mishaps, but compared to this, it’s just nothing.”
One of the mishaps Barrette may have been referring to is a crash during training in October 2015, where after going off the track and through a guardrail he sustained two broken lumbar vertebrae, a broken nose, a split lip, a neck dislocation, severe bruising and a concussion.
READ MORE: Canadian cyclist Barrette roars to victory in men’s sprint at Pan Am Games
Less than three months later, Barrette went on to win his first career World Cup medal, taking home the silver.
While Barrette admitted that people often look up to athletes, he said the true heroes are the survivors taking part in the ride.
“I think a lot of people look at us athletes and try to be inspired by our stories but these people out there, that are going to be there on the line, that survived cancer, to me are the true heroes,” he said.
Barrette said he’s inspired by his fellow participants’ outlooks on life.
The ride starts Saturday in Repentigny, with the opening ceremonies scheduled for 8 a.m.
To learn more about the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer, visit the Conquer Cancer website.
Comments