Fans will leave their rivalries on the pitch and join a 145-mile pedal pilgrimage to Amsterdam to stop prostate cancer being a killer.
Oakwell will again, be an official start point for hundreds of football supporters, employees and club officials to begin their yearly ride to the Netherlands!
On 1-3 June 2018, two weeks before the World Cup kicks off, 400 football fans will unite to cycle 145 miles over two days, finishing at Ajax's Amsterdam ArenA.
It's an opportunity to meet like-minded people and most importantly raise money to beat a disease killing one man every 45 minutes. That's two men during a football match - but it doesn't have to be this way.
John Holmes, who will be participating in the ride along with son Ben and friends in the colours of Barnsley Football Club, has spoken of his reason for doing the ride for an incredible third consecutive year!
He said: “I was emailed by the club a couple of years ago, I think it was the weekly newsletter and it was asking if fans would like to volunteer to join the ride to Amsterdam and raise money for Prostate Cancer. So I thought I fancied a bit of that, and I asked my son Ben if he wanted to join me and we’ve done it the last two years now.
“This will be the hat-trick ride for us, and we can’t wait. It’s a really enjoyable trip where everyone pulls together and there’s great camaraderie. There was a time where I had a flat tyre and lads who I didn’t know were stopping to help us get back on the bike. Former Reds managers Viv Anderson and Danny Wilson completed it with us last year, and ex-England international Les Ferdinand.
“We’ve raised £12,000 between the pair of us over the three years which is the main focus of the event. But it’s something I’d encourage others to get involved with next year, it’s not a race, it’s just a really good trip spent with great people!”
All at Barnsley Football Club would like to wish the best of luck and a safe passage to every single member of the ride to Amsterdam, whichever club they may be representing!
Prostate Cancer’s aim is turn the game around for men everywhere - to stop prostate cancer being a killer.
The stats from Football to Amsterdam 2017:
380 football fans
145 miles cycled
£600,000 raised
£600,000 could fund research to revolutionise the way we diagnose and treat prostate cancer.
