Charity bike ride in Burgundy smashes ambitious fundraising target

A bike ride taking place this week in Burgundy to raise funds for chefs and sommeliers affected by the pandemic has smashed its ambitious fundraising target before the challenge has even been completed.

Called Bike to Care in Bourgogne, as previously reported by db, the event comprises as many as 100 cyclists from the wine trade and hospitality sector, and has been spearheaded by Burgundy’s Louis Jadot to raise money for a string of charitable initiatives for hotels and restaurants.

Having set an ambitious fundraising target of €200,000, which it was shy of by around €30,000 before the weekend, db can report that the charitable event has surpassed its planned total, and has now raised over €220,000 for chefs and sommeliers.

But the event, which started this morning, isn’t over – so far the attendees have completed just half the challenge, having covered around 100km today in the hills of the Côtes de Beaune, with a similar distance planned for tomorrow, but in the Côtes de Nuits.

Among the riders are a team from Burgundy, comprising eight high-profile winemakers including Guillaume d’Angerville, Pierre-Yves Colin, Thibault Gagey, Dominique Lafon, Benoit Riffault, Jacques Seysses, Charles Van Canneyt and Bertrand de Villaine.

There are 12 teams taking part from a range of countries, including Denmark and Canada, France and the UK, as well as three teams from the US, with one of them led by Harlan Estate, which is the ‘guest of honour’ at the challenge.

To support Bike to Care en Bourgogne, please visit this Just Giving page here, which has been set up for the UK team – led by Patrick McGrath of Maison Louis Jadot’s UK agent Hatch Mansfield.

For more information on the initiative, please click here.

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Day 1 of Bike to Care en Bourgogne in pictures

Day 2 of Bike to Care en Bourgogne in pictures