Team of cyclists raise £33,000 for local charity

A team of cyclists from a local rugby club have raised £33,000 for a local hospice, by taking on a five-day cycling challenge covering over 400 miles from Venice to Rome.

The 12 cyclists and three supporting members of the team were all brought together by the president of the Winchester Rugby Football Club, Rob Sanderson, to take part in Winchester Hospice’s latest overseas challenge called ‘Venice to Rome’.

The Venice to Rome team at their final destination in Rome, just in front of the Colosseum

These challenges put on by the hospice aim to give participants once in a lifetime opportunities whilst raising key funds so that the hospice can continue to give expert palliative care to local residents.

To many, this overseas adventure may sound like a lovely holiday. Riding through the beautiful countryside of Tuscany and the iconic streets of Rome, with delicious Italian food every night to fuel them for the next day’s journey. However, there were a lot of tough days for the cyclists and lots of hurdles to overcome, including rainy days, 85 mile stretches of hills and cycling up to heights of 1,100m.

The team has done well to complete such an amazing feat, with Rob saying: “I am so proud of the team and how well we have all done throughout such an intense challenge given the fact that all of us, bar one, are over 60 years old. I’m still surprised I managed to convince them to join, but I could not have asked for a better group of friends by my side”.

Their fundraising continued after their return with the pre match president’s lunch at the rugby club, before the club’s first match of the season where they took on Guildford RFC. Not only did they win the game, but they also boosted their fundraising efforts.

Rob Sanderson (president WRFC) and Christine Donald (WRFC age grade director of rugby), pictured with Winchester Hospice fundraising and clinical staff and their final total.

The Venice to Rome challenge and the two other events put on by the club have raised £33,536.17 for Winchester Hospice to help support the care of local people.

“All of us are delighted to have raised such an amazing amount of money for Winchester Hospice” said Rob “I know there are many members of the rugby club, including myself, who have used their services in the past and this challenge felt like a very fitting way to show our thanks”.

Maddy Thompson, consultant nurse palliative medicine, a clinical lead for end of life care at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and a Winchester Hospice trustee, commented on the team’s successful challenge, saying: “It’s always amazing to see how much people are willing to do in support of the hospice. The dedication of people like Rob and the team who fundraise for us really shows how much people value having us as part of their community”.

“I want to say a huge thank you to the Venice to Rome team for taking on this enormous challenge and for raising such an incredible amount of money to help care for our patients and support their loved ones”.

If you’re inspired by their challenge, the charity will be heading to China in their next overseas challenge and places are still available for those wanting to join the team. You can find out more at: Great Wall of China Trek 2027 — Winchester Hospice