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What started as a way to stay active and take his mind off a rare diagnosis became a mission for Christopher Edgerton.
For three weeks this summer, he'll be cycling all 21 stages of the Tour de France one week ahead of the professional race in a 2,000-plus-mile event to raise awareness for blood cancers.
Watch: A rare diagnosis fuels one man's cycling mission to complete pre-Tour de France event
Journalists: Broadcast-quality video (2:45) is in the downloads at the end of this post. Please courtesy: "Mayo Clinic News Network." Read the script.
"I think when you're on a bike, you have to live in the moment," says Christopher. "You've got to keep your eyes on the road, but at the same time, you've got a lot of time in your own head."
For Christopher, cycling became more than an escape. It gave him space to process and heal.
"I had my annual visit to the doctors," Christopher says about a 2018 visit. He remembers being asked if there was anything else. "I would have said, 'No, no, I'm fine,' but I just felt a little bit tired. So (my doctor) sent me for some (bloodwork). When I saw the results, they were all red. I sort of knew enough to be dangerous. I knew it wasn't good."
"Chris has a very rare diagnosis called Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia," says Dr. Sikander Ailawadhi, a Mayo Clinic oncologist. "It could range from numbness or tingling in hands or feet to cancer-type tumors or the blood becomes so thick, it can lead to clots and cause strokes, heart attack, etc."
"It's not curable, but it's treatable," says Christopher. "I sort of came to terms with the idea of: 'You've got a second chance at life.'"
His care team built a plan around what mattered most to him.
"He wanted limited-duration treatment, something that gave him his quality of life, his independence," says Dr. Ailawadhi.
Christopher turned to cycling, pushing himself physically and mentally. A year after his diagnosis and buying a bike, he rode from Los Angeles to Boston and raised more than $50,000 for Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia research.
"I felt like I needed to do something to prove I wasn't done," says Christopher.
"He has his disease under very good control," says Dr. Ailawadhi. "He's not requiring active treatment right now, but that could change. He can travel, he can do what he wants to do and excels in his passion," says Dr. Ailawadhi.
Now, he’s taking that passion even further, riding the full route of the 2026 Tour de France one week ahead of the professional race in an event that raises awareness for blood cancers. On June 27, he will begin riding from Barcelona, Spain, to Paris, France. The 21-stage event spans more than 2,000 miles and 175,000 feet of total elevation.
"Each day I'm going to ride for somebody," he says. "Each day I can tell somebody's story."
And for Christopher, every mile comes with a reminder of what matters most.
"I'm just very conscious about time," he says. "Everybody's limited on time, and I want to feel like I can get as much out of the time I've got."
