All Black Captain Sam Whitelock, Head trainer Nic Gill and Assistant Coach Brad Mooar to ride Wattbikes for 24 hours to raise money for Bowel Cancer Prevention.
The trio are taking on the challenge of pedalling for 24 hours on a stationary Wattbike while in Managed Isolation and Quarantine when they return from the All Blacks Northern Tour this week.
They are completing the indoor cycling challenge to raise money and awareness for “The Chalky Carr Trust”, which provides practical support for cancer sufferers and their families.
The trust was set up in the name of a good friend and colleague of the All Blacks, Kevin “Chalky” Carr, who sadly passed away from cancer in 2018. Chalky was the All Blacks Logistics manager.
Now the trust has Gill, Whitelock and Mooar getting on their bikes to kick-off efforts to raise $100,000 for early bowel cancer detection.
“I can’t think of a more worthy cause as the current state of bowel cancer screening in New Zealand means it’s very challenging to access early detection tests. We are aiming to raise money so we can change that,” says Brad Mooar.
The trio have some high-profile help along for the ride. Chalky Carr Trust Patron and Black Sticks legend Gemma McCaw, Olympic Rower Eric Murray, Rowing and Cycling legend Hamish Bond, Ironman Champ Hannah Wells, Coast to Coast champ Dougal Allan and Ironman Legend Cameron Brown will get on their bikes to support the 24-hour bike marathon.
Preparing himself for this gruelling challenge, All Blacks’ High-Performance Coach Nic Gill says getting on the Wattbike for a full day is nothing compared to the grit and strength shown by his mate Chalky in his own battle with pancreatic cancer.
Gill is also aiming to beat the current known record of 755km cycled on a Wattbike in 24 hours, set by Mark Beaumont in 2015.
The group will start the Challenge this Thursday, November 25th at 6 am GMT (7 pm NZDT) and will finish 6 am Friday (7 pm NZDT). You can support them by donating to the Donate now to the 24hr Watty Challenge for Chalky!
The challenge will be live-streamed on Zoom so you will be able to follow their progress day or night or join them on your own bike for a few hours.
You can follow the trio on Facebook @NicGill @chalkycarrtrust and on Instagram @nic_health_and_performance.
For more information about Wattbike, visit: www.wattbike.com