We have received some bad news and regret to inform everyone that Zinzan Brooke has been advised not to take part in the Grand Slam Cycling Event commencing this Friday. We wish Zinzan all the best and hope he will be back on his bike in no time. Below is some more information from Zinnys just giving page.
Zinzan is devastated that he cannot take part in raising money for Sports Relief and DebRA, a charity of which he has continuously supported since learning about the disease. Unfortunately and unavoidably, with his current condition, if he should take part in such an event so soon, it would pose a further threat to his health and recovery.
Zinzan would like to thank everyone for sponsoring on this page and helping support his chosen charities. He would also like to take this oppurtunity to remind readers they can still contribute to the causes; as the charities would be hugely grateful. Lawrence and the other riders are still cycling their hearts out and Zinzan will be flying up to Edinburgh next week to show his support and welcome the guys home!!
The Dellaglio Foundation has pledged to help DebRA, as well as other charities, through this ride - so for those of you who know little about the charity and its cause....,
DebRA is the only charity to provide services and support to children and families who suffer from EB (Epidermolysis Bullosa), at the same time as co-ordinating and providing funds for the research (all over the world) to find treatments and ultimately a cure. EB Research has had some major breakthroughs in recent years and even months, and it is now at a point where, for some types of EB, it is moving from laboratory work to clinical trials - at last, for some of those affected by EB, we are just starting to see the benefits of 15 years of hard work in the labs.
But clinical research is very expensive - several times more expensive than lab research; services still need to be provided while we wait for the day DebRA can close up shop! And all this has come at a time when funding has become more of a challenge.
Original Article
All eyes are on the Six Nations rugby tournament this year, but a couple of ex rugby stars are using pedal power to promote a different kind of story around this tournament.
One of New Zealand's rugby greats, Zinzan Brooke, is joining ex-England star Lawrence Dallaglio and co for the final 550km (340mile) stretch of the epic ride, which takes in all of the Six Nations rugby stadiums and is aiming to raise £1 million.
However, when the ex-All Black answered Lawrence Dallaglio's call and agreed to take part in the final two legs of the challenge, he faced one problem, he didn¹t have a bike, Zinnys well connected friends at Clydesdale bank Reading got him in touch with Evans Cycles and we were only to happy to oblige.
Zinny is piloting a BMC road racer bike, one of the finest Swiss made bikes, available exclusively from Evans Cycles. With expert sizing and fitting from Adam and the team at Reading he is ready to tackle the challenge ahead of him.
Widely regarded as one of the finest number eights ever to play the game, Zinzan said: "I'd like to thank Clydesdale Bank and Evans Cycles for helping me out at short notice so I can take part in the Dallaglio Cycle Slam."
"When I saw the bike I¹ll be using I suddenly realised what I¹d signed up for. Cycling is dominated by athletes half my size and possibly a third of my weight, so I did think I might have been a bit hasty in agreeing to take part."
"Now, after fitting a comfortable saddle and customised stem to give me various gripping options, the confidence has returned and I¹m raring to go."
The Sport Relief cycle challenge has been organised by Lawrence Dallaglio and begins on Friday (February 12) in Rome with the 2,800km route taking in Paris, Twickenham, Cardiff and Dublin before finishing at Murrayfield in Edinburgh on March 13.
Brooke is joining Dallaglio for the legs through Ireland and Scotland (starting March 5th) and has set himself a personal fundraising target of £20,000 for DebRA, a charity working for people with a genetic skin blistering condition Epidermolysis Bullosa.
To find out more or to donate visit www.justgiving.com/zinzan
