Sports stars Anna Meares and Adam Goodes were simply cyclists in the pack as Steve Waugh’s Captain’s Ride came to emotional end in Albury on Saturday.
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The 60 riders embraced their families and children with rare diseases – at the heart of the fundraiser – who had come from all over the country to be at the finish-line.
Among them was Perth mum Taryn DiCandilo and her four-year-old Owen, who followed the ride from its start point in Healesville on Monday.
Mrs Dicandilo’s husband Vincent signed up for the ride without any previous cycling experience.
“We became grant recipients this year from the Steve Waugh Foundation, and when we saw this was their main fundraising drive I said let’s apply,” she said.
“The foundation supports people with rare conditions, and you really bond with them to create your own networks even if your children don’t have the same diagnosis.
“Owen was diagnosed at three months with Lissencephaly – it’s due to a genetic abnormality and is a lifelong condition.”
Mr Dicandilo had raised almost $22,000 by the time he pulled into Quest Albury close to 3pm.
“It’s been unbelievable and meeting everyone has been amazing,” he said.
Waugh expected nearly $1 million would be raised through the annual ride.
“We always look for a challenging ride and we heard Bright was the mecca of cycling,” he said.
“Climbing Hotham, there’s a lot of gradients of 14 to 15 degrees and we have some inexperienced riders.
“Part of the ride is challenging people physically and mentally because we want to emulate the spirit of the kids we’re riding for.
“We had three parents riding who have children with rare diseases – we see the kids at the finish line and the riders know what they’re doing it for.
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“They are the orphans of the health system, often without diagnosis or financial support and we try to acknowledge them and give them a voice.”
The 750-kilometre ride took the former Test captain far away from news of the departure of Cricket Australia chairman David Peever, but Waugh said it would take “the right person” and not necessarily someone with a cricketing background to replace him.
“Obviously there’s turmoil at the moment and there’s a lot of change – at some stage hopefully things settle down and everyone gets on with the job,” he said.
“Cricket’s not broken in Australia, it maybe needs to be fixed a bit, but I don’t think it’s as bad as people are making it out to be.”
Waugh’s Captain’s Ride began in 2015.