On July 16th 2007 I attepted the amateur stage of the Tour de France to raise money for the Williams Syndrome Foundation. Yes, I mad.  Check it out at www.letapedutour.com/.

The race was 123 miles long through the Pyrenees from Foix to Loudenvielle, taking in 5 very serious mountains. It was very painful and temperatures approaching 40 degrees made it even more of a challenge; over 40% did not make it to the finish line out of more than 7,000 starters.

I managed to finish, completing the race in 9 hours 50 minutes and 2026th place. This was a serious challenge worthy of your sponsorship. Please dig deep and sponsor me online.

As many of you may know, my amazing younger brother Stuart  has Williams Syndrome - a rare disorder.  After many years of being miss-diagnosed due to poor awareness of the condition amongst healthcare professionals, Stuart was finally diagnosed with Williams Syndrome a few years ago. This has made a huge difference to Stuart and our family; Stuart is no longer searching for answers and everyone now know 's what we are dealing with and how best to support him.

Like Down's Syndrome, Williams it is caused by an abnormality in chromosomes, and shows a wide variation in ability from person to person. It is a non-hereditary syndrome which occurs at random and can effect brain development in varying degrees, combined with some physical effects or physical problems. These range from lack of co-ordination, slight muscle weakness, possible heart defects and occasional kidney damage. Hypercalcaemia - a high calcium level - is often discovered in infancy, and normal development is generally delayed.

The incidence is approximately 1 in 25,000. The Foundation hears of over 75 cases a year - and this figure is rising as publicity spreads. By 2002 over 1300 cases were known in the UK.

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Williams Syndrome Foundation 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 me now!

Many thanks for your support.

Steve

It really hurt!

 

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The stage: 122 miles Froix > Loudenvielle

 

You can check out more information on the history of the race and the 2007 course via the links below. I will update the links as more articles come out over the next six months, so please come back to read them.

History/articles/background

http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2006/tour06/?id=/features/2006/marksharon_letape3

http://www.aso.fr/2005/cyclisme/us/ccs1.html

http://www.cyclosport.co.uk/article.aspx?id=135

The Course

Etape.tv http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35WS-q2RxzA

Climbing Port de Balès http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPVXRkPWhW0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_q74uoXBfEM (great video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V48ncz27MEM&mode=related&search= (watch how hard  the final climb is - even for the pro's!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVzw7JZamDM&mode=related&search= (one of the climbs)

http://www.roadcyclinguk.com/news/article.asp?UAN=1771&SP=&v=1

http://www.cyclosport.co.uk/etape.aspx