1 minute read
THE TOUR 21
The Tour de France, regarded as one of the toughest sporting events in the world, as cyclists who dedicate their lives to the sport race across much of the French Alps over 21 gruelling stages. These are 21 days of not only immense physical pain but also psychological warfare as cyclists can spend up to twelve hours a day on their bikes.
So you can imagine my surprise upon finding out that my dad, Craig, a keen and seasoned cyclist (but no Lance Armstrong!) was to tackle the Tour de France this summer, a childhood dream of his At the age of 47, my dad’s ambitions of going pro seemed increasingly unrealistic However, a week before the professional event, a tour for budding cyclists takes place for charity. The routes are identical, but the only difference is significantly slower times as mainly middle-aged men and women attempt to conquer the Alps.
Advertisement
To prepare for the tour, my dad has been training for over nine months, has lost over 20 kilograms, experimented with a Keto diet (short-lived, admittedly), and has had to juggle hours of training on the bike with life at work, and at home of course.
To put this foreboding feat into perspective, cyclists will ride 3404 kilometres between the 24th June and 16th July, starting in Spain and finishing in Paris. Throughout the tour, cyclists will endure 59,000m of vertical climbing, which is the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest six and a half times
By Finlay Eadie
After such statistics, you’d be forgiven for thinking why would anyone want to take part in such an event, but it is all for a good cause. The 25 amateur cyclists taking part hope to raise over £1 million towards the charity Cureleukaemia, which personally affected the founder of Tour21 Geoff Thomas MBE, who was diagnosed with leukaemia one year after retiring from professional football It is an incredibly worthwhile cause as someone in the UK is diagnosed with leukaemia every hour and unfortunately there is no cure.
If you wish to donate and show your support, please use this QR code All donations are very much appreciated
