Cyclists on Cloud 9 after raising $4.1 million to fight cancer

The JGH team is eager to hit the road in the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer.

Relieved but elated after a demanding, 200-kilometre ride from Montreal to Quebec City, 1,100 cyclists in the 9^th annual Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer crossed the finish line in July, having raised $4.1 million for the JGH and its partners across Quebec.

This brings the event’s multi-year total to more than $51 million. Proceeds from the Ride on July 8 and 9—Quebec’s largest multi-day cycling fund-raising event—will support a wide range of vital programs in cancer research, treatment, care and prevention.

Pausing for a morale-boosting cheer on the road in the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer.

Among the enthusiastic participants was Sylvain Gagnon, who returned for his fourth Ride, after being diagnosed in 2012 with stage IV metastatic melanoma. “I underwent five surgeries, radiosurgery, chemotherapy and immunotherapy, all through the Segal Cancer Centre at the Jewish General Hospital,” he said.

“I am proud to be riding on Team Ulterïa in support of the world-leading centre that saved my life. Completing the Ride is an experience unlike any other, and continuing to cross the finish line as a cancer survivor has become a highlight for me every year.”

Also along for the Ride was Hugo Barrette, a Canadian Olympian track-cyclist and World Cup medalist, who served as the event’s official ambassador. He was joined by fellow Olympians, Benoit Huot, Marie-Andrée Lessard, Isabelle Charest, Marie-Ève Marleau, Evelyne Boisvert, Danek Nowosielski and Tania Vicent.

An emotional moment in the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer.

“This event is about camaraderie and perseverance,” said Myer Bick, President and CEO of the JGH Foundation. “With ongoing support from the Ride, the Jewish General Hospital will continue to make breakthroughs in cancer research, and it will continue to improve how a patient lives with cancer.

“Funds raised through the Ride allow our world-leading doctors, researchers and scientists to develop new technologies every day in molecular diagnostics, functional imaging, biomarkers, molecular target discovery and validation, and advanced targeted radiation therapy.”

The milestone 10^th edition of the Ride is already scheduled for July 7 and 8, 2018.