WheelPower, the national charity for wheelchair sport, is delighted to announce that MKFM will become the title sponsor for the Tour de Vale charity bike ride in 2021.
Since 2003, the Tour de Vale Charity Bike Ride has raised £800,000 for WheelPower and we are very much looking forward to working alongside the team at MKFM to showcase this event to a wider audience across their network.
The Tour de Vale is organised by WheelPower from our home at Stoke Mandeville Stadium, the birthplace of the Paralympic movement. The event is our biggest fundraiser of the year and is very much community driven. It is popular with people of all abilities, from individuals & families to cycling clubs and is inclusive in every respect, welcoming many disabled cyclists to the start line.
Over the past 17 years, the money raised has allowed WheelPower to reach thousands of disabled children and newly injured adults throughout the UK, promoting the importance of health and wellbeing through the benefits of sport and physical activity. This money has taken on even greater importance in 2020 as we deal with over 50% loss of income due to the cancellation of events which are so vital to us.
Prior to this year’s challenges, it was in 2019 that we saw over 1,400 riders on the start line at Stoke Mandeville before setting them off on their respective cycling challenges. Together they raised an amazing £56,000 for WheelPower and supported our programmes to reach even more people with disabilities to stay active and access sporting opportunities throughout the UK. In 2020 the event still took place in an ‘Alternative’ way as hundreds of riders challenged themselves over various distances during the month of September. We are so grateful for their continued support and we now look ahead to 2021 with the hope we can return to a more familiar Tour de Vale alongside our new sponsors MKFM.
Jo Hall, WheelPower Event Organiser, comments: “Year on year our local community supports the Tour de Vale charity bike ride and a truly fantastic amount of funds have been raised to continue our work of helping disabled children and adults to take part in sport. The Tour de Vale would not be possible without the support of our incredible volunteers, sponsors and supporters and we can’t thank them enough for taking WheelPower to their hearts through this wonderful community driven event. I am delighted to welcome MKFM onboard and I look forward to working closely with them to deliver our best ever MKFM Tour de Vale in 2021”.
Darren Dorrington, MKFM Chief Executive, adds: “MKFM is proud to be working with WheelPower’s Tour de Vale next year and covering the event. After what has been a disaster of a year for outdoor events, we will all welcome this one and are hoping that more people than ever with join the cycle in 2021."
Martin McElhatton, WheelPower Chief Executive, concludes: “The Tour de Vale Charity Bike Ride is WheelPower’s biggest fundraising event and we are delighted that it attracts families, club cyclists, and hand cyclists from our local community here in Buckinghamshire and beyond. The vital funds it raises help us to support disabled people who have had life changing injuries, which this year is of even greater importance due to many shielding and being isolated in their homes. By providing access to sport and physical activity opportunities, WheelPower help people to overcome their injuries and see a positive future. I am hugely proud of this event and I would like to thank MKFM and their audience for joining us on this journey over the coming year.”
