A graduate from the University of Sunderland has completed the challenge of a lifetime to raise money for charity.
Tudor Tamas has cycled 3,600km over 21 days across Europe from Florence to Nice, the same route as the Tour de France, and has raised over £30,000 for Cure Leukaemia.
Tudor was an international student from Romania who studied Sports Journalism at the University between 2013-16 and went onto complete a master’s degree in Public Relations.
Tudor said: “I don’t believe, for an amateur riding the Tour de France or a similar challenge, that this is actually a physical challenge. I am convinced now it’s a mental challenge.
“We knew we had to do 220 kilometres in the first day with a lot of climbing and we started off with a very hot day.
“At the end of the first week and throughout the second week I had terrible stomach pain.
“I got a stomach bug; my body just couldn’t digest the amount of food that I was throwing at it, and I had two days where I just cycled on bananas and Kiwis.
“To put it into perspective, we were burning between 5,500 and 7,000 calories per day. You add everything up, not eating, tiredness, the pain, the cramps that I had, I think I had 9 out of 10 pains in my belly, it was cold and we had to do very long distance, that was the lowest point.”
But Tudor persisted and completed stage after stage, reaching his fundraising target by the end of the first week.
Tudor said: “A highlight that is worth mentioning is just the camaraderie of the team and just how people who you never knew before, complete strangers, became brothers in such a short space of time because you just have to support each other. That was the whole spirit of the of the experience.
“We also climbed the highest paved road in Europe, the Cime de la Bonette. That’s 2,802 metres in terms of altitude.
“That was a good moment as well when you get to the rooftop of Europe – it’s impressive.”
Tudor was part of Cure Leukaemia’s Tour 21 challenge, that sees a group of volunteers cycle the route of the tour de France to raise money for the charity.
This challenge enlists a team of 25 amateur cyclists to take on the full route of the Tour de France ahead of the professionals. The money raised is donated directly to the Trials Acceleration Programme which aims to connect patients with potentially life-saving treatments across the UK.
Tudor said: “I think the actual winners of the whole thing were the people who contributed, and who actually supported us and eventually helped us raise so much money for charity and helping support and save lives.
“In the last week of the tour, we kept receiving messages from patients and they were very emotional days; the team used to read messages that we got from the patients.
“And that was such a hugely kind of motivating factor because it just gave you a direct connection with the people you were supporting with the funds that you were raising.
“It just showed us how real kind of life is and whatever we’re doing, it was incomparable.”
After finishing the three week challenge and meeting his fundraising target, Tudor now has a moment to reflect.
Tudor added: “It would not have been possible without the support of my wife and then family and friends and everybody else who donated and helped me achieve this.
“It would have been impossible to do it without the support from people.”
If you want to donate to Tudor’s fundraising for Cure Leukaemia, find out more here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/tudor-tamas