Sport and solidarity, with a great desire for healthy competition and to enjoy many splendid postcards of Sardinia. At the first edition of 2022, 8 cyclists set off, but tomorrow there will be 18 cyclists who, at 8:30, will meet in front of the Businco Oncology Hospital in Cagliari to start the new Tour, ready to welcome along the route other cyclists who have faced and overcome a tumor or want to prevent the disease.
As stated in a press release, the stage cycling event organized by ASD Flamingos's Roads has three strong and ambitious objectives:
-1) Convince all women that although the encounter with cancer is a trauma, it is always possible to move forward and recover fully, also and above all by getting on a bicycle, which proves to be a very powerful means to fight this terrible disease. Cycling under the sun and along the wonderful panoramic roads of our beloved Sardinia, helps to combat depression and anxiety, promotes physical and psychological recovery, improves the quality of life and gives a wonderful feeling of well-being;
2) Encourage all women who, fortunately, have not experienced the disease, to prevention, inviting them to follow a healthy diet and to practice regular sports, especially cycling. Cycling allows you to maintain a healthy body weight, reduces the risk factors for the development of various types of cancer, in particular it stimulates the immune system, increasing the production of white blood cells and antibodies that help fight tumor cells; furthermore, the activity promotes the reduction of estrogen levels, a hormone involved in the development of some tumors, such as breast and uterine tumors;
3) Encourage new donations and contributions to purchase a third cooling helmet (a latest-generation machine capable of preventing hair loss during chemotherapy) to be donated to another Sardinian oncology facility after those already donated to the Alghero Hospital (Tour 2023) and Lanusei (Tour 2024).
The stages – Sunday 25th May is the scheduled Cagliari-Oristano, 103 km (it will also touch the Oncology Center of the San Gavino Monreale Hospital).
Monday 26 May will be the turn of the 110 km Oristano-Alghero . It will be the most challenging event of the week because after having passed the plains of Sinis, the cyclists will face the long climb towards Cuglieri and then return to the sea of Bosa and then travel the coastal road with numerous steep ups and downs to Alghero.
Then on Tuesday 27th May there is the cycling day scheduled in two half-stages: the first will be relatively easy and flat (Alghero-Sassari of 36 km) , but after the planned meetings with the city and health authorities, we will want to continue in the very early afternoon for another 64 km much more challenging that will lead to the Ozieri Hospital.
On Wednesday, May 28th there is the 70 km Ozieri-Olbia. On Thursday, May 29th the 108 km Olbia-Nuoro has as its final scarecrow the final climb of “Solitudine”.
Friday 30 May will be the turn of the Nuoro-Lanusei, 70 km: a relatively short stage which however includes overcoming the highest point of the entire week, the 1,062 metres of the Correboi Gallery, in the Gennargentu mountains.
The last and longest stage is scheduled for Saturday, May 31st : Lanusei-Cagliari, 137 km long. You will have to tackle the Campu Omu climb and then descend towards the sea of Flumini, where, in the last fifteen kilometers on Lungomare Poetto, you can finally begin to experience the satisfaction of having completed an undertaking experienced in an intense week of cycling and solidarity.
Following the party set up in Molentargius, in the Parco delle Emozioni.
The “twinning” – « It will be the fourth year of an ideal twinning between us and the oncology hospitals present in the territories», highlights Cristina Concas, president/cyclist of the ASD Flamingo's Roads. «With our adventure we would like to ideally unite them in a journey that from the capital will touch all the reference structures of the Island». «We will arrive in Molentargius, among the pink of the flamingos, where the splendid birds have found the safety of a home and an ideal environment for their existence. A bit like the journey of those who have managed, with difficulty and with great strength of spirit, to defeat cancer».
Sponsorships – The initiative enjoys the patronage of the Presidency of the Sardinia Region, the Metropolitan City of Cagliari and all the Municipalities involved. For information: 349/448.9700, pinkflamingosbike@gmail.com