Over £2m raised for five charities at Sir Chris Hoy's Tour De 4 charity cycle

Over £2m was raised for five cancer charities as more than 5,000 cyclists came together in Glasgow for the inaugural Tour de 4, founded by Sir Chris Hoy.

The challenge saw Sir Chris lead participants – many of whom were living like the Olympic legend with Stage 4 cancer – in a mass cycle at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome on Sunday.

Fundraising was powered through GoFundMe, where thousands of donations poured in to support Breast Cancer Now, Cancer Research UK, Macmillan, Maggie’s and Prostate Cancer UK.

In October last year, Sir Chris announced he had a terminal prostate cancer diagnosis after having been told in 2023 by doctors that he had two to four years to live.

A tumour was found in his shoulder, and a second scan found primary cancer in his prostate, which had metastasised to his bones.

He completed his 56-mile cycle challenge in Glasgow with some of his closest friends, including his childhood friend Grant, by his side.

“Just being with him on the journey over the last two years since he got his catastrophic news and how that impacted him and the way he’s turned that into a positive has been incredible”, he said.

“Today being the accumulation of that it really encapsulates everything about Chris, he always wants to help people, do good things whenever he can and it’s incredible the amount of time that people have given up to come and be here today so it’s the most uplifting thing.

“Definitely the best bike ride of my life.”

The six-time Olympic cycling champion set up the event to challenge perceptions around stage-four cancer after his own diagnosis in 2023 and to raise money for charity.

The challenge saw Sir Chris lead participants – many of whom were living like the Olympic legend with Stage 4 cancer – in a mass cycle at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow.

Alex from Edinburgh was diagnosed with stage four bowl cancer last November.

Despite going through chemotherapy, in June this year, he found out his cancer was incurable.

He said, “Stage four is perfectly curable in many situations, and even when it isn’t, there are still many ways to find joy and happiness, so for me, it’s really about finding the small things that really matter.

“Hopefully, raising money for Maggie’s and being here can inspire people to do more themselves and maybe think about the positive aspects of what they might be going through or what their loved ones might be going through.”

John Coventry, Senior Vice President at GoFundMe, said: “What we’ve seen in Glasgow is truly extraordinary – thousands of people coming together, led by Sir Chris Hoy, to raise vital funds for cancer charities that make such a difference in people’s lives.

“At GoFundMe, we’re proud to stand behind the people whose kindness and support made the Tour de 4’s £2m milestone possible.”