Team Rynkeby, the team cycling to find a cure for childhood cancers

In the case of children, cancer has different origins than in adults, and it is not possible to understand the causes. In adults the reason may be environmental, but in children there has not been sufficient exposure to harmful factors, and therefore the disease cannot be prevented. “Just think that when we were with our son Axel being treated for his tumor, a newborn baby arrived at the ward, born with a brain tumor.”

The speaker is Tord Timmers Nilsson, Swede, born in 1975, with a past in Italy, married to Caterina, from Pisa, and father of Aron and Ariel. Axel, their second son, was taken away by a very aggressive brain tumor in 2014. For years Tord has been involved with the Team Rynkeby association to raise funds for research in aid of the Swedish Childhood Cancer Foundation – Barncancerfondan. This year, hundreds of people with him cycled across Europe and, in partnership with local companies contacted along the way, they raised precious money to find a cure for children’s cancers. Even very rare diseases, for which there are often no dedicated research projects.

“The response to therapy – he explains – depends entirely on the type of tumor. Indeed, compared to forty years ago, today the prospects for those who receive a diagnosis have improved significantly, and many tumors are curable. But there are still many who are absolutely not, even if discovered on the first day, which is also unlikely. It was like this for our son: after months and months of the expansion of his illness, we learned that he had an incurable tumor. And we found out because he had serious balance problems. It’s not easy to establish why your child isn’t behaving as he should.”

It is precisely on these terrible tumors, with frightening names, that it is important to concentrate as much as possible. “Some typologies are more or less manageable, and it is hoped that in the not too distant future those which today offer no hope of survival will also become so. And this is where Team Rynkeby comes in, managing to raise money that can be donated to research,” explains Tord.

In Sweden alone, since 2011, i.e. since the first race held by the team, more than 300 million crowns have been raised, which corresponds roughly to 30 million euros, and this year all the teams from all the participating nations have put together as much as 8.5 million euros. “This is money that we participants raise by asking local companies to sponsor the cancer research carried out by Barncancerfonda in Sweden, and by friends and acquaintances. We are around 2000 cyclists every year, divided into 66 teams in 8 countries. There are over 4500 sponsors. We cyclists obviously don’t receive a penny from donations and sponsorships, and we pay all our expenses. Some companies that want to support our cause offer us food for the race or a ferry ticket or the provision of some support cars. And that’s it.”

Sponsorships, obviously, give visibility to companies, which can use the team logo. “From our internet pages – continues Tord – it is also possible to see who has sponsored us. Every year, for those who have donated at least 25,000 kr there is the possibility of seeing their logo printed on our t-shirts”.

Currently Team Rynkeby is the largest donor of Barncancerfondan in Sweden. The central costs of the project are covered by Eckes Granini through the brands Rynkeby, God Morgon, Hohes C and Granini. In 2023, 95.6% of the total donations were donated to Barncancerfondan and Hjänfondan barn (the fund for the care of children with mental health problems).

“Unfortunately, brain cancer is quite common as a tumor. And it probably represents the 15% of children who don’t survive. I can only say that every extra euro helps us make progress, because research is expensive. And invite readers to donate through this link. Any donation helps. Every donation is a step towards saving more lives,” explains Tord.

A progress made in research in Sweden becomes, among other things, a progress also in Italy and elsewhere, because oncology centers collaborate across borders and doctors update themselves on the state of the situation in the various countries.

“I participated in 2024 with 16 other cyclists and the support team. In total we were more than 2000 cyclists and we arrived at the same time at the Paris velodrome on Saturday 6 July at 1pm. The participants have different motivations: there are those who have lost a child, but also doctors and nurses who are aware of this tragedy, and who then intervene in the team in case of illness or accidents. And then there are people who want to help raise funds without being directly affected by it. The desire to be an example is also one of the motivations that drives people to get on the bicycle.”

The race is not a race and the team members constantly help each other throughout the journey. “We help each other keep the bikes in good condition and clean and change the tires when they get punctures. And then we have a lot of fun. Sometimes the people we meet in hotels, or where we happen to stop, curious about these Scandinavian cyclists in yellow overalls, ask what we do and give us some banknotes which we put together with the rest of the money collected during the year: it’s a nice experience and it’s wonderful to cross half of Europe in the saddle for this purpose. For me, ten years after Axel’s death, it was fantastic to enter Paris. A real celebration, there was an indescribable joy in the air.”