Zerenia Clinics UK to sponsor Le Cure race for breast cancer research

UK cannabis clinic, Zerenia, has announced it will sponsor the annual Le Cure cycle event to help raise funds for breast cancer research.

Le Cure de France was established in 2014 to raise funds for breast cancer research at The Royal Marsden.  

Every August, the annual cycle event sees participants – known as ‘Curistas – take on some of the Tour de France’s toughest climbs in the French Alps over four gruelling days. 

Since 2014, Le Cure has raised over £2 million and this year Zerenia Clinics UK wants to show its support by becoming a  sponsor of the event.

The funding 

Funds raised by Le Cure support innovative breast cancer research projects that take place at The Royal Marsden. These pioneering research projects aim to transform and save the lives of breast cancer patients by changing clinical practise and improving treatment options. 

The 2022 race: 24 – 27 August 2022

56 Curistas
Total distance to be travele: 453km
Total vertical meters to be climbed: 10,034m
Raised: £220,000 (at time of writing)

In 2022, riders will once again climb more vertical meters than Mount Everest and finish at Le Cure’s spiritual home of Alpe d’Huez after tackling the infamous 21 pins.

Stage 1 – 24/8/22
Mont Ventoux

The Giant of Provence at 1,912m, will always have a special place in Curistas’ hearts. Back in 2014 it was the first ever climb. The classic route is 21.8km and an average gradient of 7.5 per cent with long sections over 10 per cent.

It was here in 1967 that Britain’s Tom Simpson collapsed and died on the mountainside, still clipped into his pedals. Chris Froome won on Ventoux in 2013, en route to his maiden Tour victory.

Stage 2 – 25/8/22
Col du Macuegne

This year will be the first time the Curistas will climb Col du Macuegne

Photo: LeCure

Stage 3 – 26/8/22
Col D’Izoard

The Izoard has featured in the Tour an impressive 34 times, with the mountain home to some epic battles including those between Coppi and Bartali.

Despite that the Izoard has only seen one summit finish (in 2017), which was won by Warren Barguil. Le Cure will take on the Izoard for the third time in 2022 and for many Curistas has been one of the toughest climbs.

As if the 31.5km climb to 2,360m isn’t enough to contend with, the brief downhill section in the barren and windswept Casse Déserte only serves to sap the legs of riders before the punishing run to the summit.

Stage 4 – 27/8/22
Col du Galibier

The Tour has been ascending the Galibier since 1911, which at an imposing altitude of 2,642m, makes it one of the most revered climbs in cycling. The Galibier has featured on the Tour a staggering 59 times.

Le Cure has ascended Galibier in both directions and, alongside the Col du Telegraphe, returned in Stage 3 of Le Cure 2019 with a spectacular thunder storm at the top.

Photo: LeCure

Col Du Lauteret

Curistas climbed Col du Lauteret in 2019 and 2014.

Alpe d’Huez

The Tour’s first visit to Alpe d’Huez was won by the legendary Fausto Coppi, since when the 13.8km, 8.1 per cent climb – including a savage first 3km – has seen several epic stages, most notably in 1986 when Bernard Hinault and Greg LeMond crossed arm in arm.

Winners also include the infamous Lance Armstrong and Marco Pantani and, most recently, Britain’s Geraint Thomas.

Including a double summit in 2019, Le Cure has climbed the Alpe seven times and will return for the grand finale once again in 2022.

Photo: Le Cure

TRAK-ER

The latest long-term project to receive funding from Le Cure is TRAK-ER, which is being led by Professor Nicholas Turner.

Roughly 70 per cent of breast cancer patients (around 30,000 people a year in the UK) are diagnosed with Estrogen Receptor (ER) positive tumours. Of these, around 30 per cent will have a higher risk of relapsing, sometimes decades after treatment.

In previous Le Cure funded work, researchers have proven that a blood test or liquid biopsy can be used to detect circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) which may indicate relapse.

The TRAK-ER team hope that, if relapse is detected early enough, patients may be able to receive treatment before extra mutations emerge in the cancer that make it more difficult to treat. This would effectively mean that the relapse is treated at a molecular level, before the cancer becomes visible in scans.

For these purposes, the team will test the effectiveness of the combination of targeted drug palbociclib and hormone therapy fulvestrant. Treating patients at the point at which ctDNA is detected (rather than waiting for relapse to show up in scans) would mark a revolutionary, new approach to treating breast cancer relapse.

Photo: Le Cure

The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity

The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity raises money solely to support The Royal Marsden, a world-leading cancer centre. They ensure their nurses, doctors and research teams can provide the very best care and develop life-saving treatments, which are used across the UK and around the world.

From funding state-of-the-art equipment and groundbreaking research, to creating the very best patient environments, they will never stop looking for ways to improve the lives of people affected by cancer.

Zerenia Clinics offers FREE eligibility assessments for new patients, anyone suffering from cancer or cancer treatment-related pain is encouraged to try them out visit zereniaclinic.co.uk to contact one of their patient care coordinators today to find out if therapy with medical cannabis is an option for you.

For more information contact a member of the team. Call: 0204 515 0797 Email: info@zereniaclinc.co.uk

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