Virgin Media has today pledged its support to the Dallaglio Flintoff Cycle Slam 2012 – the charity bike ride taking place next year to raise millions of pounds for charitable causes. Fronted by two Great British sporting legends - former England Rugby captain and World Cup winner, Lawrence Dallaglio and former England cricketing captain, Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff - who lead a team of over 250 riders on the 2,817km route from Greece to London.
This week, Sir Richard Branson joined Lawrence and Freddie on a three-seater tandem to announce Virgin Media’s sponsorship of Cycle Slam 2012 and kick-start the fundraising.
Spanning across 22 days, the Dallaglio Flintoff Cycle Slam 2012 supported by Virgin Media will be set over five stages. Kicking off in true British-style on St George’s Day (23rd April) from the ancient birthplace of the Olympic Games, Olympia in Greece, the journey will take the riders through Italy, across the Swiss Alps, and through France, before reaching London on 18th May. Each Cycle Slam rider is expected to raise in excess of £3,000 to support Lawrence and Freddie in reaching their fundraising goal of £2,012,000.
All of the money raised will support some fantastic British causes through the Dallaglio Foundation (supporting a major prostate cancer project), the AF Foundation (supporting the development of children’s rehabilitation and physiotherapy units throughout the UK) and Virgin Unite (the not-for-profit foundation, helping young people in the UK to increase their employability and entrepreneurialism, as well as tackling other important issues for young people).
As part of the official sponsorship of Cycle Slam 2012, Virgin Media will be providing Freddie, Lawrence, the core riders and support teams with top-of-the-range smartphones so that they can stay connected to home and their supporters as they tackle the changing weather and landscape. Virgin Media is also giving ten customers and ten members of staff the opportunity to join Freddie and Lawrence on the Cycle Slam journey too – each raising money to help Freddie and Lawrence achieve their fundraising goal of £2,012,000.
Sir Richard Branson said: “2012 is set to be a fantastic year for sport and the perfect time to honour all things British. What better way to start the celebrations, than supporting our very own great Britons, Freddie and Lawrence, as they embark on their epic Cycle Slam journey across Europe.”
Jeff Dodds, executive director of brand and marketing communications at Virgin Media, said: “Supporting Cycle Slam 2012 is a very exciting opportunity for Virgin Media and we are completely behind the whole team of riders to help Lawrence and Freddie reach their fundraising target. We’re delighted to be able to bring some rewards to our staff and customers by giving them the chance to join the team and get involved with raising money for some amazing British charities.”
Lawrence Dallaglio said: “Freddie and I are excited to have Virgin Media on board as we embark on our charity cycle ride next Spring and we look forward to working with them in aid of some brilliant causes through our charitable foundations.
“We have a strict training programme and thousands of kilometres ahead of us but we are up for the challenge. We want the public to get behind us and support the whole team of riders by visiting our fundraising page to pledge their support.”
Halfords, Official Cycling Partner of the Dallaglio Flintoff Cycle Slam 2012, will be providing Boardman Performance Series Road Pro Carbon bikes to Sir Richard, Lawrence and Freddie, in addition to mechanical assistance to all riders throughout the Cycle Slam journey.
To support the Dallaglio Flintoff Cycle Slam 2012 supported by Virgin Media team, visit virginmoneygiving.com/DallaglioFlintoffCycleSlam.
Freddie Flintoff and Lawrence Dallaglio team up to launch the Dallaglio Flintoff 2012
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