Fundraiser Stories: Giro d’Willtalia – One Final Grand Tour for Three Great Causes

The Giro dWilltalia Team at their launch event

What started as an extraordinary challenge between friends has become a powerful tradition of endurance, friendship, and purpose.

This year, five intrepid riders are gearing up to complete the final chapter in a journey seven years in the making: a re-creation of cycling’s three Grand Tours, all ridden in the same brutal timeframes as the original races, and all to raise life-changing funds for three charities, Cancer Research UK, Herts Young Homeless, and of course Harrison’s Fund.

Their names are Will Jackson-Moore, James Lumpkin, Scott Burgess, Andy Carson, and Simon Abrahams—and together, they form the heart and legs of Giro d’Willtalia.

A 7-Year Journey of Grit and Generosity

In 2018, they began with a staggering 24-day re-creation of the 1968 Tour de France, covering 5,850km and pushing themselves to the edge of exhaustion. No support vehicles. No shortcuts. Just raw determination.

In 2022, they tackled the Vuelta a España, clocking 3,200km in 18 consecutive days, without a single rest.

Now, they’re taking on the final leg: the 1968 Giro d’Italia—the last of the Grand Tours.

🚴‍♂️ The Challenge: From August 1st–25th, the team will cycle over 4,000km, climbing nearly 48,000 metres (that’s more than five times the height of Everest) across 22 days, with just one rest day. The original Giro from 1968 was considered one of the toughest of its era—and these riders are sticking to the same gruelling schedule.

This isn’t just an athletic feat. It’s a mission with meaning.

Why They Ride

This is more than a challenge of physical endurance. It’s about pushing personal limits for causes that hit close to home.

Harrison’s Fund is especially close to the heart of Will Jackson-Moore, whose cousin Alex Smith founded the charity after his son, Harrison, was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy—a fatal, muscle-wasting condition affecting children.

Funds raised will help support Expert Clinical Psychology services for families like Harrison’s through our Chrysalis Grant Programme.

Will said:

“Every kilometre, every climb is for families fighting battles every day. We ride for those living with Duchenne, for young people facing homelessness, and for breakthroughs in cancer research.”

Follow Their Journey

This team has shown what friendship, commitment, and compassion can achieve when pointed in the same direction. Their three Grand Tours are a once-in-a-lifetime effort that’s taken seven years of planning, training, and unwavering resolve.

But as they say—it’ll take more than hills and distance to stop us.

You can track their progress and support them by joining the Strava Club:🔗

And you can help them smash their target of £20,000 by donating or sharing their story far and wide. Because while the climbs are steep, the purpose is powerful—and we’re proud to be one of the causes they’re riding for.

📍 Willtalia Website

Follow the full route, updates, and donation links:🌍 www.willtalia.org