The cycling challenge will cover 470 kilometers, or 292 miles, and it includes 11,700 meters, or 38,400 feet, of uphill cycling, encompassing some of the most challenging mountain passes featured in previous Giro d’Italia routes. The challenge includes six mountain passes that stand over 2,000 meters with the highest point reached on the third day, Colle dell'Agnello standing at 2,748 meters, the sixth highest paved road in the Alps. As a point of comparison, this year’s Tour de France had only one pass over 2,000 meters and it was at exactly 2,001 meters.
The Akshaya Patra Foundation provides food to children who would otherwise need to forgo education for income by entering child labor and consequently be entrapped in poverty and misery. Akshaya Patra was founded on the vision that “No child in India should be deprived of education because of hunger” and implements Mid-Day Meal programs in 19 locations across nine states in India.
Miyamoto said, “Supporting the Akshaya Patra Foundation is very important to me because no child should be forced to choose between income and basic education. My primary charitable cause is children and my personal as well as professional association with the country of India for almost 30 years have led me to Akshaya Patra’s cause. Witnessing poverty-stricken children on the streets every time I visit the country after which my daughter is named is heart wrenching. The only way to have an enduring impact on generations to come is to enable these children to be educated. The Turin to Monte Carlo route includes extremely demanding climbs, but I’m really looking forward to the challenge and raising money for Akshaya Patra.
