The starting signal for the 30th Tour of Hope was given in Giessen on 14 August. Around 215 riders - including numerous personalities from sport, politics and the media - set off at 9.45 a.m. from the Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG) premises for the prologue of this year's fundraising tour. Shortly before the start, Hessian Minister President Volker Bouffier and SWG CEO Reinhard Paul greeted the athletes and wished them "good legs" for the 341 kilometres to be covered by 17 August. "We are keeping our fingers crossed that we will once again raise a decent amount of money for a good cause," said Reinhard Paul. It might even be possible to beat last year's record of around 1.6 million euros.
Since 1983, the Tour of Hope - initiated by Giessen physician Professor Fritz Lampert - has already raised more than 28 million euros for children with leukaemia and the fight against cancer. In 2013, the donations are destined for children's hospitals and parents' associations in Kassel, Göttingen and Würzburg, other children's hospitals and the Oncogenetic Laboratory research funding programme at Giessen University Children's Hospital.
This year, the tour will include Petersberg, Fulda, Melsungen, Kassel, Göttingen, Hofgeismar, Baunatal and Bad Wildungen. All route and time schedules as well as further information on the fundraising tour can be found online at www.tour-der-hoffnung.de.