A decade-long cycling event which raised an incredible $1.7million for brain cancer research has gone out on a high.

More than 1400 cyclists pulled on the lycra on Sunday, January 15 for the tenth and final Lightsview Ride Like Crazy community cycling event.

Organised by SAPOL, Ride Like Crazy started in 2009 to support Senior Sergeant Mick ‘Crazy’ Koerner, who had been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour and passed away soon after.

It went on to become an annual event in his honour, supporting Flinders Foundation and the NeuroSurgical Research Foundation to fund brain cancer research.

Funds raised from the ride were instrumental in establishing the state’s only Neurological Tumour Bank based at Flinders Medical Centre (FMC).

The SA Neurological Tumour Bank collects tumour tissue from patients undergoing surgery and stores it for current and future research projects with the aim of finding cures, better treatments and earlier diagnosis for cancers of the brain and spinal cord.

Funds have also been used to install specialised equipment in operating theatres at FMC to allow surgeons to remove tumours and immediately store them in liquid nitrogen vapour – cutting transit time and increasing the quality of tissue available to researchers.

Specialised research equipment, including an Olympus Fluroescence Microscope, IncuCYTE Fluroscence Microscope and UltraCentrifuge, were also purchased for cancer researchers in the Flinders Centre for Innovation in Cancer thanks to Ride Like Crazy’s support.

Flinders Foundation Chief Executive Officer Amanda Shiell said Flinders Foundation was grateful to have been beneficiary of the annual ride:

“The support of SAPOL, Lightsview and all those who have taken part in Ride Like Crazy over the past 10 years, has been incredible.

“Because of them, there’s now huge potential to find better interventions, treatments and cures, and give real hope to people with brain cancer and their families”