Yellow path of Hope makes way for Lance and Tour of Hope Team at dramatic finale on the Ellipse

Hundreds of cancer survivors form a Hope Path on the Ellipse for the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope Team, as riders Ted Yang, Bernie Sher (rear left), Lance Armstrong and Brandon Hayes-Lattin make their way to the stage and the Tour of Hope Grand Finale Saturday

WASHINGTON, DC – Hundreds of cancer survivors formed a yellow pathway on the Ellipse and were surrounded by more than 8,000 cheering supporters Saturday as the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope Team turned off Constitution Avenue and into the Hope Path for its final lap together.

The dramatic Tour of Hope Finale was the culmination of a 3,500-mile journey that took the 20 riders from Los Angeles to the nation’s capital in eight days, with a mission to inspire everyone they met to learn more about and to support cancer research, the pathway to new treatments for cancer.

More than 8,000 people, including hundreds of cancer survivors (in yellow T-shirts) gathered on the Ellipse to greet Lance Armstrong and the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope Team at the end of their 3,500-mile journey across America.

The Team took off at midnight on October 1 from the City of Hope Cancer Center in Los Angeles and pedaled relay style around the clock through the desert, into the Rocky Mountains, across the plains and over the Appalachian Mountains before reaching Washington, DC.

Lance Armstrong and Bristol-Myers Squibb Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Peter Dolan led the Team onto the Ellipse, where the riders all dismounted their bikes and bounded up on to the stage to the cheers from family, friends and thousands more who came to see the inspiring group.

Lance Armstrong introduces Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope Team member Kristen Adelman at the Grand Finale at the Ellipse on Saturday.

Lance introduced all of the riders individually, and encouraged everyone to give them a hand. “What they did was so, so special,” he said. He thanked Bristol-Myers Squibb for developing the three chemotherapy drugs that treated his cancer nearly eight years ago and for having the vision and the commitment to embark on the ambitious Tour of Hope.

While the 2004 Tour of Hope has concluded, Lance emphasized that it will continue to have an effect on those touched by the Team members during the week. “The Tour of Hope is over for these riders, but what will never be over is hope,” he said.

Washington, DC news anchor Leon Harris (at podium) speaks to the crowd with Bristol-Myers Squibb Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Peter Dolan (far left), Lance Armstrong and the entire 2004 Tour of Hope Team on stage at the Grand Finale event at the Ellipse on Saturday.

Peter Dolan praised Lance and the 20 riders, saying that raising awareness about the importance of cancer clinical trials was a more difficult task than the riding itself. But they did it, and the thousands who came out to see them as they crossed the country were touched by their message. “Because of the efforts of the Tour of Hope Team, more people are learning about the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer,” he said.

Nearly 1,000 people participated in the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope recreational ride earlier in the day, and the top 10 fundraisers were recognized and congratulated by Lance and the Team.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Peter Dolan praises the Tour of Hope Team at the Grand Finale, telling the crowd that spreading the message about the importance of cancer clinical trials was more difficult than the riding itself. .

Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, a two-time cancer survivor and director of the National Cancer Institute, accepted the 150,000 Promises the Team gathered from people across the country. He encouraged the crowd to continue to support cancer research and to be aware of the ways to prevent cancer and detect it. “We are in control, America,” he said. “Cancer research is discovering and defeating this enemy.”