[Update: 9th July 2008. I completed the course in 9 hours, 32 minutes and 8 seconds so beating the sweeper car. 30% of the 8,800 entrants either retired or were swept off the road.]
Thank you for visiting my fundraising page. Please dig deep and sponsor me online.
Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Supporting Kids in Peru (SKIP) (www.skip-peru.co.uk) will receive your money faster and, if you are a taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.
Thank you for visiting my fundraising page. Please dig deep and sponsor me online.Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Supporting Kids in Peru (SKIP) (will receive your money faster and, if you are a taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you."It's not just a physical pain, either. It's spiritual. Pushing on even when you want to stop. It hurts your soul. But it also makes it sing. It's like yoga, a long, sweet pain that most of you pray will end, but some of you hope will get worse." Jeremy Lazell Sunday Times Journalist
“…L'Étape Du Tour Mondovelo 2008 will once again be an occasion for close to 9,000 keen amateurs to follow in the tracks of cycling's greatest. It will follow the itinerary of the 10th stage of the 2008 Tour de France: Pau to Hautacam.
The most coveted amateur bike race will pass through the Pyrénées Atlantiques and the Hautes-Pyrénées. The event starts in Pau, the Prefecture city of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques and 61 times a stage town on the Tour de France. After a 165 km course there will be a hill-top finish in Hautacam, a winter sports resort of spectacular natural beauty with extraordinary views of the Pic du Midi and the Val d'Azum.
The stage will be “rich and intense” on a course designed for cycling's elite, like all stages on the Tour. Dedicated amateurs will all be present to tackle the two difficulties of this stage: the Col du Tourmalet via la Mongie, a climb of more than 17 km at a 7.5% gradient, culminating in the ascension towards Hautacam, a climb of 14 km at a 7.2% gradient…”
(http://www.letapedutour.com/2008/ETDT/presentation/us/parcours.htm)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzKTUl_nMl8
I will have spent six months preparing for this event. The stage has a maximum time limit of ten and a half hours, however there is a sweeper bus.... the point is not just to be able to finish, but not to get "taken out" at check points along the way. I will finish this thing even if I get my number taken, unless either my bike or I get broken.
You can imagine what a challenge this is for me; I hope you can see that it is for an exceptionally good cause.
So please sponsor me now! Many thanks for your support.
A special mention to the following for their help, support and guidance.
CycleFit: Bike Fitting Service
GPM10: Cycle Training & Tours
Akcelina Cjvetic: NLP & Nutrition
Paul Tappin: Training Guru
Darren Marchant & Guy Winterflood: Training Buds
