Meet "The Big Swede"

"The Big Swede" is back for his second Pan-Massachusetts Challenge ride. Professional cyclist Magnus Backstedt returns to Massachusetts this weekend to ride alongside Team Forza-G in the 31st annual PMC.  Backstedt, a melanoma cancer survivor, is the 2005 second place stage 7 winner of the Tour de France and 2004 Paris-Roubaix winner. He retired from professional cycling in 2009 and is a correspondent on Cycling TV and started a coffee company, Magnus Maximus. Team Forza-G, a team of 32 cyclists, rides in honor of Pedal Partner Mason Giove and his family for the second straight year. Mason is being treated for cancer at the Jimmy Fund clinic at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

2009 Team Forza-G

Click here for more about Magnus and his 2009 PMC ride and read about Backstedt in the Boston Globe.

Magnus (right) with PMC Founder Billy Starr at 2009 PMC

Meet Magnus Backstedt and support Team Forza-G Wednesday, Aug. 4 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. at a fundraiser at Washington Square Tavern, 714 Washington St., Brookline, Mass. Admission is free, but donations to Team Forza-G are encouraged. Meet Backstedt and talk all things cycling while enjoying food and drinks at the Tavern. Backstedt will be hosting raffles, an auction and signing autographs. For more info email: forza-g@comcast.net