Some 1,100 cyclists taking part in a two-day cancer fundraiser ride from Montreal to Quebec City, started arriving at the finish line Sunday afternoon.
Despite heavy rain along the way, participants had cause for celebration.
This year’s edition of the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer raised $4.1 million dollars benefiting the Jewish General Hospital’s Segal Cancer Centre.
Over the ride’s nine-year history, more than $51 million has been raised for cancer programs at the hospital and its partners across the province.
“Funds raised through the Ride allow our world-leading doctors, researchers and scientists to develop new technologies every day, in the areas of molecular diagnostics, functional imaging, biomarkers, molecular target discovery and validation, and advanced targeted radiation therapy,” Myer Bick, president and CEO of the Jewish General Hospital Foundation, said.
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It is estimated that nearly 52,000 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed this year, in Quebec alone, according to Bick.
A statistic that can be difficult to grasp.
Ride ambassador and Olympian Hugo Barrette said it best when he explained his reasons Friday, for joining the ride.
“To me, it’s an extremely important cause because it touched my family. My aunt has cancer as we speak,” Barrette said. “Pretty much everyone is touched at some point by cancer.”
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Many of the participants in the weekend journey from Montreal to Quebec City are cancer survivors, and while Barrette was meant to inspire his fellow participants, he called them the true heroes.
“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.
Registrations for the 10th edition of the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer to be held on the weekend of July 7, 2018 have already begun.
For more information, visit the Conquer Cancer website.
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