The former Chelsea and England footballer is part of the core group of riders joining ex-England stars rugby’s Lawrence Dallaglio and cricket’s Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff on their 2,872 km cycle to raise funds for Cancer Research UK and the Great Ormond Street Hospital.
In 2010 Freddie joined Lawrence on his ride from Rome to Edinburgh to raise £1.4 million for charity, and it was a mutual friend of the England and British Lions rugby star who contacted Graeme last summer and asked if he would be interested in taking part in the Cycle Slam 2012.
‘It seemed like a good idea at the time,’ Graeme joked, adding on a more serious note: ‘It was suggested that I could possibly do a stage or two, but from my point of view it was in for a penny, in for a pound, and I just had to do the whole distance.
‘I know that the sense of achievement will be unbelievable, and being part of that core group, forming strong partnerships and relationships to help each other through the good days and bad, makes it a real challenge for me to complete the whole journey.’
The training Graeme started in Jersey in October has culminated with three weeks in Majorca over Easter.
‘I am as ready as I can be,’ he said. ‘I’ve completed around 1,000 kilometres over the last 11 days, including three- and four-day blocks to get me used to long rides on consecutive days.’
Graeme is not sure what Monday will bring, when the first day involves a 170 km ride from the ancient city of Olympia to the town of Messolonghi in western Greece.
‘This is my first multiple-day cycle so I don’t know what kind of pace we will be setting,’ he said. ‘Personally I hope to be setting off early and getting the work done early so we can arrive at the destination at a relatively sensible time and start preparing for the next day.
‘But I’m sure we will find a level and stop for lunch and other breaks. It would be nice to start and finish together, but some of the bigger rides could take six hours, so it is just a question of staying focused.’
One thing Graeme does not have to worry about before he departs is sponsorship. Having been required to raise £17,000 as part of his participation in the event, he has so far set three targets.
‘I have been humbled by the generosity of people,’ he said. ‘My original target was £20,000, then it went to £30,000, and I am actually well on the way to £40,000.’
Some corporate sponsors, including Chalet and villa company Amazon Creek Ltd, sponsored £10,000, and 7IM investment managers put forward £5,000, while Triton partners in Jersey have pledged £2,000. The latter came about after a chance meeting in The Boathouse in St Aubin one evening.
Graeme explained: ‘Through a friend, I was introduced to one of the partners of the company, and it turns out she is a big Chelsea fan who takes her family to watch matches. During our conversation she asked me what I was doing now, so I emailed her the link to the Cycle Slam and between her and the staff at the company, they came up with the sponsorship.
‘There are some incredibly generous people. It is a big undertaking and I have committed a lot of time and effort to get into the best shape possible for it, and it gives me a huge boost to know that so many people have sponsored me, whether with big or small donations. They have all contributed to raising a tremendous amount.’
Training and spending the Easter holidays in Majorca with his family meant that Graeme missed the pre-event party in London, but he has met Lawrence and Freddie before and will have plenty of time to get to know them even better over the next four weeks.
‘I am a sports fan and Lawrence and Freddie are sporting heroes of mine, so I’m looking forward to spending time with them both,’ Graeme said.
He is also looking forward to renewing an old London derby rivalry, as one of the other core riders is former Arsenal right-back Lee Dixon.
‘Lee and I were both fiercely competitive throughout our careers and had our moments on the pitch,’ said Graeme. ‘He was a tremendous professional and shared the same belief that what happened on the pitch stayed on the pitch, and I have a great deal of respect for him.
‘We also worked together on Match of the Day 2 for a while and got on well. But I am sure there is some way the Chelsea-Arsenal rivalry will resurface – the teams meet today when we are travelling to Greece and both have some big matches while we are away (although only Chelsea are still in any cup competitions!) so I expect a bit of banter.’
The Dallaglio Foundation raises money for Cancer Research UK, Lawrence having lost his mother to the disease in 2009. Graeme’s mother, Daphne, also died from cancer.
Graeme said: ‘I have always supported cancer charities and Cancer Research UK is the biggest cancer charity in the country. To be able to raise money to help in their invaluable work is important for me.’
The AF Foundation raises funds to build and develop child rehabilitation and physiotherapy units in major hospitals throughout the UK. The money raised in the Cycle Slam will go towards a project at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
‘When I played for Chelsea and England, I visited Great Ormond Street and witnessed the fantastic work that goes on there,’ said Graeme. ‘Medical research and the levels of care provided at GOSH are very expensive and they are always looking for more funding, they are both worthwhile causes.
‘Combined with the generosity of the many sponsors, I will only need to think of those two charities to keep me going when I am moaning and feeling grumpy at any point during the Cycle Slam!’
Keep checking back at This is Jersey for the very latest on the challenge. We’ll be posting regular blogs from Graeme and you can follow his tweets on the top right hand side of every one of our 2012 Cycle Slam pages.
To make a donation and help Graeme raise as much as he can for Cancer Research UK and Great Ormond Street Hospital, visit Graeme’s money giving page or www.dallaglioflintoff2012.com
