Six-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Chris Hoy has praised participants in Tour de 4, the cancer charity cycling event he founded to challenge the perception that a stage 4 diagnosis signals the end of an active life. The event, which starts and finishes at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow, returns on September 6 with routes designed to accommodate all abilities.
A cancer charity ride born from personal diagnosis
Hoy was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer in 2023 and has been living with the disease since. He launched Tour de 4 to support Maggie’s, a national cancer charity operating 27 centres across the UK, and to demonstrate that late-stage cancer need not define the boundaries of what patients can still achieve.
“Maggie’s focus on empowering people to live well with cancer and not to lose the joy of living in the fear of dying completely aligns with Tour de 4’s vision.”
The Tour de 4 also raises crucial funding toward Maggie’s objective of expanding from 27 to 60 centres across the UK. Among this year’s participants is Dr Roger Cliffe, 78, from Worcestershire, who was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in late 2024 after kidney cancer spread to his lungs and adrenal glands.
Cliffe, who briefly cycled alongside Hoy during a stage of the Tour de France in 2006, had not been on a bike in a year before signing up. His family received support from Maggie’s following his diagnosis, a pattern reflected in the experiences of many patients who turn to the world’s leading cancer charities for practical and emotional guidance.
Stage 4 patients respond to Hoy’s message of possibility
“I absolutely agree with Sir Chris’ ethos of showing that people can continue to live a life with stage 4,” Cliffe said.
Before Hoy’s public profile raised awareness, Cliffe noted, many patients with late-stage diagnoses assumed their only option was to stop living fully.
“Before Sir Chris, anyone with stage 4 thought all they could do was sit back and wait to die, when actually there’s no reason why you can’t still keep on living a very full life,” he added.
Stuart Petty, 57, from Cumbernauld and James Doherty, 43, from London, are also riding this year, both living with stage 4 diagnoses. Their participation reflects a growing conversation about what active engagement with illness can look like, a shift also visible in how public figures are using personal health experiences to drive charitable causes beyond their own communities. Places in the September event remain available.