Audlem man in charity Tour de France stage – more information.

A few weeks ago, Audlem Online reported that Philip Hesketh, an Audlem resident, is completing a stage of this year's Tour de France in the Alps called the Etape du Tour. This is to raise money for the Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign. We now have more information on what is involved and it is enough to make anyone feel exhausted just reading it and, perhaps, reach for their cheque book and make a donation!

On 10th July, some 9,000 cyclists will start of from the French town of Gap in the Alps on a 187km, or 117 mile, ride across the mountains. They will scale three huge peaks finishing with a dizzying climb up 12kms of hairpin roads leading to the summit of Alpe d'Huez. In other words, this is even more exhausting than cycling along the lanes to Norton in Hales!

The stage, just one of the twenty that the real Tour de France competitors cycle, will take the amateur riders from 5 to 10 hours to complete. On average, they will burn up 7,000 calories. The cyclists clearly have to be very fit because if many get off their bikes to walk on any of these massive climbs, they can easily block the narrow mountain roads and, with thousands involved, a huge traffic jam will result. For more information visit:

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