Introducing John Mountford - Support Team

JOHN MOUNTFORD'S STORY

I wanted to do this because I really quite like cycling, although I'm getting to an age where I can't do what the rest of them do. This is just a great way of putting something back into the Doddie Weir Foundation and raising money. It really is a great one. I'm also doing it to support Ian Barr. I'd like to see how he does and just keep him on his toes so he doesn't slack off.

ON CONTINUING TO RAISE AWARENESS

I think helping out charities is a big thing in the UK. In many countries, it's not the same. I spent a bit of time in France and they don't do anything like this amount of charity work that we do here. There is so much in this country that is supported by charitable work in so many areas and I've raised money for years and years now for a lot for cancer research.

This is the second opportunity I've had to do something for MND. I did a marathon for a chap who passed away in Glasgow with MND and put money into research for that. I also do things for local hospices. They're all run virtually in the UK by charitable donations. It's not NHS funded or at least, they only received minor support. 

So, to do something in this community is a good thing. And this is a great cause. They raise a huge amount of money and it would be of great benefit to society if we could find some way to help people who get MND. It's a dreadful disease.

WHAT DID DODDIE MEAN TO YOU?

He was a great player.  I played rugby in England and a little bit in Australia. I emigrated to Australia when I was relatively young.  I love the sport. So I go and watch Scotland as I've lived up here. I support them most of the time, unless they're playing England, which is where I was born. So I'm a great rugby fan. 

Doddie was just a great player, a great symbol. And you know, handled himself really, really very well when he got ill. It was really heroic what he did. He really raised awareness of the plight of MND sufferers. He just did a fantastic job. Now, I'm delighted to be part of this.

BIGGEST CHALLENGE ON THE TRIP?

I think it's going to be tough actually for everyone. I think the support team will be working for 16 hours every day, for the whole of the nine days. So there won't be any respite from that. You'll be on the road, making sure the team are all right, getting to the next stop off point, change over point. There will be long and intense days every day, all the way through.

The riders will certainly have the hardest part, but for the backup team, it won't be a walk in the park either. You'll need to be at the right place at the right time, have the right food ready for the guys, for them to get, you know, their nourishment back, make sure we get to the right hotels on time. Don't miss the routes. If the backup team isn't on time, it will make life very difficult for them to keep on schedule.

It will be challenging for everyone, I think. But I'm really looking forward to it. They're a great bunch of guys. There's a lot of banter happening on the WhatsApp group. So now I'm looking forward to meeting them and sharing the experience.

 I think it's going to be quite an event. They're trying to get all sorts of people involved in this. And rightly so. It's something that these guys are really going to test themselves in. It's an amazing thing.They're going to have to be really on top form to complete this, so it'll be great to help support them and see them through.

ULTIMATE AIM FROM THIS CHALLENGE?

The support is there really, to make sure that we do our bit and make it as smooth as possible for the riders, that they get to the right place at the right time and get the right backup and really just have to concentrate on their cycling. So that they don't have to worry about whether we get to the right hotel on time or in the right place. So that their bags are looked after, that they just concentrate on cycling. It's always good camaraderie, this sort of thing. I mean, the cyclists, especially, will be a really tight team. Hopefully the backup staff can give them that. It'll be a real adventure. Italy is a fantastic place to go and watch rugby. It's a brilliant venue, a beautiful city.  It'll be a real group effort. I'm really looking forward to it. It's really what rugby was all about as well, because it's such a team effort. I know a lot of team sports, but there's such a lot of camaraderie that goes on within rugby. It'll be a great few days.