For those of you who don't know, L'Etape du Tour is a chance for 8,500 amateur riders to compete over a real stage of the Tour de France. Last year 1/3 of riders failed to complete the event!  This years course runs 169km (103 miles) over/up two mountains, including the highest road pass in the French Pyrenees. We shall be climbing about 3,500 metres in thinning oxygen (that's about 11,500 feet in real money). All-in-all a proper challenge.  And it's a real race!  Closed roads, escort by La Republiques' best, and a "broom wagon" to sweep up anyone who is too slow and give them a fast ride to the hotel....

And to make it interesting, we get a whole 10 hours to complete it in.

So who are we? From left to right:

Mike Russell - Genetically fortunate rider and nine-stone wringing wet. The rest of us will probably only see him disappearing into the distance.

Clive Handy - Wannabe lanterne-rouge (the guy at the very back). 45 year old fat bloke, desperately dieting, and hoping to be quick enough to be allowed to the top of the Tourmalet. Gravity should do the rest!  To find out how bad things are getting, go to www.clivesetape.blogspot.com

Brett Green - Keen as mustard, but the most inexperienced of the 4 riders as only took up the sport in August 2007. Tendency for feminine distraction en-route!

Mark Burns - Really keen, good rider, and old enough to know better. Responsible for bullying/shaming most of us into training rides.

Not surprisingly, we are hoping for a range of results, from hopeful Gold Medals (first 5% only), down to winning a sprint against the Broom Wagon, but will all be putting in maximum effort for this worthwhile cause.

Please dig deep and sponsor us online. This trip is self-funded i.e. not an organised charity event where some money offsets the cost of the trip. So every penny counts and will go directly to The Stroke Association.

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor us: The Stroke Association will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.

So please sponsor us now!

Many thanks for your support.

Brett, Clive, Mark and Mike

We would also like to thank NFU Mutual and The Stratford Cycle Studio for sponsoring our team kit!