Team of local cyclists to take on five day challenge in aid of local charity

A team of cyclists from a local rugby club are set to take on a five day journey of over 400 miles through the Italian countryside, all to raise funds for a local hospice.

The team of 12 cyclists and three supporting members have been brought together by the president of the Winchester Rugby Football Club, Rob Sanderson, to take on the ‘Venice to Rome’ cycle challenge. This has all been organised to help raise funds for Winchester Hospice as a way of thanking them for the support they have provided to the members of the rugby club and their families.

The team all ready to take on the challenge

It’s a new challenge for most of the members of ‘Team Winchester Hospice’, with Rob remarking that “whilst a number of team have done multi day cycling challenges before, none of us are proper cyclists, so this is something a bit different”.

The route will take the cyclists through some stunning Tuscan landscapes, but when asked about what the team are most looking forward to, Rob jokes “finishing”, before going on to say, “the Italian countryside, a lot of entertainment every evening, nice wine and pasta and just doing something new for a wonderful cause”.

It won’t all be beautiful scenery and wonderful food however, with a route set to take the team through a lot of hairpin turns and hills. Rob remarks on the challenges ahead and says how, “the hills on the second and third day will be a particular challenge with a lot of up and down over an 80 to 90 mile stretch”.

The team have decided to undertake this challenge to raise funds for Winchester Hospice, which is a charity close to the hearts of many of the cyclists. “I think it’s a great cause” says Adrian Lickiss, managing director of Anglotown and one of the riders on the challenge, “it’s good to be able to raise a fantastic amount of money for Winchester Hospice through a unique challenge like this”. Rob adds to this “There have been quite a few members of the rugby club who have been cared for and whose families have been supported by the hospice, so naturally we do a lot of fundraising activities to help. This seemed to be an appropriate challenge for us to take on.”

There have also been a couple of other events organised, by the rugby club, to help raise extra funds for the hospice. The first of these was a black-tie dinner event and auction which took place on Friday 25 September. This was held to honour a member of the club who had died in November 2025 and to whom, Winchester Hospice had provided care and support for the family.

After the team returns from the challenge, there will also be a pre match lunch on Saturday 17 October, prior to the regional league encounter with Guildford RFC, to help raise extra funds. So far, their efforts have managed to raise over £20,000 for the hospice before the team have even set off to begin the cycle challenge.

The Venice to Rome challenge takes place on the 4 October to the 10 October. If you would like to support the team, you can find the link to their just giving page here: #TeamWinchesterHospice Venice to Rome 2026 - JustGiving