Tour de Cure


The Tour de Cure is a series of fund-raising cycling events held in forty states nationwide to benefit the American Diabetes Association. The Tour de Cure is a bicycle ride to raise money for diabetes research, and is not an actual race. Each location's ride routes are designed for everyone from the occasional rider to the experienced cyclist.

Riders

Over 33,000 riders participated in the 2007 Tour de Cure. In 2008, more than 38,000 cyclists in 78 Tour events raised nearly $16 million to support the mission of the ADA: to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.

Red Riders

In 2007 the ADA began recognizing those riders with diabetes as Red Riders through the Red Rider Program. This program was created and is organized by Mari Ruddy, a rider in the Colorado Tour de Cure. The program supplies Red Riders with a bright red cycling jersey and a group for individual red riders to join.

Volunteers

Each Tour de Cure event recruits volunteers to help set up and take down start and finish lines and rest stops, mark the routes and print out the guide sheets, assist riders who have run into mechanical difficulties, pick up and transport riders who need to drop out of the event, keep track of which riders have left and returned, keep riders on route and obeying local cycling laws and so on. Since 2015, volunteers with diabetes have been called Red Crew and have been provided with red T-shirts with a variant of the Red Rider/Red Strider logo.

Fund-raising

In 2007, the Tour de Cure raised over $13 million for diabetes. In 2008, over $16 million for diabetes was raised in 78 events nationwide. Each ride has various fund-raising minimums, but in 2013, the base value for minimums nationwide was increased from $150 to $200.

Corporate Support

Riders of the Tour de Cure may join numerous nationwide and local corporate sponsored teams. National sponsors include:
, three-time Tour de France winner, is the national spokesperson.

Locations