The riders, ranging from 16 to 72 years of age, began their journey in the regular fashion from Selhurst Park early on the Friday morning ahead of Saturday's 15:00 kick-off.
They weaved their way out of Croydon and found themselves stopping off for lunch in the Oxfordshire countryside, bagging themselves their 60 miles. 50 or so miles later, the riders reached the hotel in Warwickshire to stop off for rest, food, and refreshments.
Tired, but in good spirits, riders then heard from former Palace Captain and Wolverhampton player Geoff Thomas MBE about his time at Palace; who he’d want from the current squad in his team when he was playing,;and his fundraising efforts to raise money for Cure Leukemia, after being diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (a form of blood cancer) in 2003.
Thomas was given just three months to live, but after a stem cell transplant from his sister Kay, he entered remission from the disease in early 2005. Geoff spoke movingly about how since then, he has dedicated himself to raising funds to help other blood cancer patients. He’s cycled the Tour de France on seven separate occasions and has raised over £3 million for Cure Leukemia since 2005.
The same evening, riders also heard from the Foundation's Sarah Hoddy, our Targeted Intervention Manager who, alongside her team, run mentoring sessions with young people who are facing a variety of challenges, serving as a source of extra motivation for those tired legs the following morning.
After a night of well-earned rest, the riders set off at 07:30 on Saturday to complete the remaining 49 miles to the Molineux finish line.
A bit of bike maintenance here and there and that was it: the riders arrived in the backdrop of the Molineux stadium, cheered over the finish line a couple of hours before kick-off – enough time to get themselves some food and revel in their achievement, before also doing so with the team's!
