Mark Beretta on the Tour De Cure in Cootamundra.
Besides riding for the wonderful cause that Tour De Cure does, each rider has their own reasons and backstory for participating in the physically gruelling tour.
Tour De Cure raises vital funds to achieve their motto ‘riding to cure cancer’, with all funds going directly towards cancer research, helping change lives in local communities for the better, all whilst creating lifelong friendships along the way.
Mark Berretta, Sports broadcaster and journalist on Channel Seven and morning television program Sunrise, has been participating in the Tour De Cure since 2009.
Beretta told The Times during their lunch stop at the Family Hotel in Cootamundra on Day 7 of the tour that it was exciting to travel to new places around Australia and constantly getting to meet new faces.
“It’s unreal. It’s the home of [Don] Bradman. It’s really special to get to places we don’t usually,” Beretta said.
“I’ve been doing this for 13 years and you don’t always get to spots that you haven’t seen before. So, to get somewhere new is great. I haven’t been to Wagga Wagga before, and I’ve never been to Cootamundra. I’ve always had friends that have been out of Coota so it’s good to come and see the place.”Berretta said the biggest highlight of the tour for him is the people they meet along the way.
“It’s the people you meet along the way and the special moments you have together,” he said.
“There are times when you have some really dark days on the bike, and you think you’re stuffed and can’t go on. I guess you can’t stop because there’s nowhere to go, so you got to get to where you’re going.”
The Seven sports presenter admitted the most gruelling aspect of the tour is the backing up from one day to the next.
“It’s the relentlessness and the endurance. It averages out to about 150 kilometres a day. As a one-off, that’s a big day on the bike but when you do it day after day it’s just a grind on the body. So that’s the biggest challenge is just to keep going day after day, so body maintenance and eating well is important,” Beretta continued.
“We’re going to get a good meal in us today at the Family Hotel.”
Beretta is a Geelong local, with the tour starting in his hometown on Friday, 11 March, and finished in Canberra last Saturday, 19 March.
“This tour will do me. I only do one big one a year. With work, it’s sort of hard to get much more in but this is the big one especially for me, so that’s why I try and make it every year – as much as it hurts,” Beretta said.
Berretta stayed in Canberra on Saturday night and described his plans for the night as “extensive relaxation”.
Former Cootamundra local Dr John Fuller, a leading Neurosurgeon in Sydney and Canberra, also rode on the Tour De Cure Tour A, with his wife Amanda travelling along with the catering van.
The cause is one close to John’s heart, as his mother sadly died of cancer at just aged 52. John also spoke with The Times at the Pit Stop at the Family Hotel about why he joined the tour.
“Tour De Cure raises a lot of money for research and given that a lot of that money filters back to what I do, I thought I can ride a bike, I might as well put it into some use and help raise money for what ultimately comes back to help my patients,” Fuller said.
“Living on the northern beaches in Sydney I used to see the Tour De Cure training groups, and the tour is fairly good at training people, and I used to see them when I was out riding so I thought to join them.
“Tour De Cure in terms of organisations, the money that they raise ends up in the right spots and that’s why I brought my pedalling power here.”
John was born in Cootamundra in 1962 and attended Sacred Heart Catholic School in town, before leaving for school in Newcastle when he was 16, then heading on to university in Sydney and completing his training.
“We’ve been pretty fortunate with the weather coming from Geelong via western Victoria. The most challenging aspect of the tour is the cumulative days. Up until now there hasn’t been too much climbing but the whole tour has 14 kilometres of climbing,” Fuller continued.
Upon finishing the tour on Saturday, John and Amanda Fuller met up with their children.
“We’ve got some children still in Canberra as well as some of the kids coming down from Sydney, so we’re having a bit of a party and catch up with everyone on Saturday night.”
Tim Warren