Kia Supports Tour Duchenne

SYDNEY – Sept 22, 2011: Kia Motors Australia provided valuable support for Muscular Dystrophy Australia’s annual fundraising bike ride, Tour Duchenne, by supplying four vehicles to assist with logistics and rider support.

Tour Duchenne, now in its third year, has raised over $1.3 million, including $125,000 raised by riders in 2011.

This year’s event started at State Parliament in Macquarie Street on Monday 12 September.

The next day was a 156km epic from Kiama to Goulburn via Jamberoo Mountain Rd. The final day saw the riders pedal the 110km through Bungendore and Queanbeyan where they met up with Tony Abbot who rode the last 20km with the group to the front doors of Parliament House.

Kia Motors supplied the event with four support vehicles including a Sorento, Grand Carnival, Rondo and Soul. Driven by event officials they provided riders with invaluable support and in some cases protection from traffic on the busier roads.

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy affects one in 3500 new born males. The degenerative disease often sees the young boy confined to a manual wheelchair by the age of eight, and to an electric one by his early teens.

Life expectancy for this disorder is usually early adulthood with only a small percentage surviving to celebrate their 21st birthday.

The money raised from the 2011 Tour Duchenne will help families living with the disorder through support programs, research into a cure and advocacy.